After completing a series of tasks at the Sanctuary and eating oil-splashed noodles, Qin Zhiyu embarked on another busy day.
The trees she had chopped down yesterday still had their stumps left in place. She continued where she left off, and soon the forest was once again filled with nothing but the rhythmic thudding of her axe.
Around noon, Qin Zhiyu grew utterly weary of the repetitive chopping—she was almost counting down the remaining trees—when something finally came along to break the monotony.
“Whoosh—”
Covered entirely in dark bristles, two massive tusks lunged toward her. Wasn’t this Second Brother?!
Qin Zhiyu nimbly dodged the boar’s charge, drew her scimitar, and thought it was the perfect opportunity to test her new weapon.
Seeing its attack miss, Second Brother turned around and charged at her fiercely once more.
Seizing the moment, Qin Zhiyu grabbed the boar’s tusks, pushed off with her arms, and landed squarely on its back.
Her left hand gripped the slippery boar hide, struggling to find purchase, while her right hand tightened around the scimitar, driving its sharp tip toward the boar’s eye.
Qin Zhiyu thought she had a sure hit, but Second Brother twisted with tremendous force. Her hand couldn’t hold onto the slick, short bristles, and she was thrown straight to the ground.
There was still a gap between ideal and reality—her strength wasn’t enough to take down a wild boar.
“Good grief!”
As Qin Zhiyu dodged Second Brother’s attacks and pondered how to counter effectively, the boar’s relative arrived.
This was also a wild boar, though slightly smaller than Second Brother. Against one boar, Qin Zhiyu could still put up a fight, but with the addition of Third Junior Brother, her only option was to flee.
Qin Zhiyu relied on the speed boost from her Swiftwind Boots to dash forward.
She was already familiar with this area, and her morning reconnaissance had revealed nothing unusual. These two boars had likely come from the outskirts she hadn’t yet explored.
The darkness affected her vision, so Qin Zhiyu had to rely on her perception to navigate. After all, a torch couldn’t withstand such speed.
She agilely leaped over one tree after another, but Brother Pig was no slouch either. Two boars, each weighing several hundred pounds, followed closely behind Qin Zhiyu, one after the other.
Qin Zhiyu knew that if this continued, she would only run farther and farther. Losing her way in the darkness was a terrifying prospect.
There… a door!
As she drew closer, a tall, gray-black castle resembling Gothic architecture appeared before Qin Zhiyu, with no creatures guarding its surroundings!
Summoning all her strength, Qin Zhiyu rushed into the Ruins. Passing through the mist, she entered a spacious hall, silent as if no living being had ever set foot there.
Remaining on high Alert, she thought to herself, It truly feels like heaven never seals off all exits—Divine Relics had to appear at this very moment.
Some people also referred to Divine Relics as Ruins. Many of these individuals harbored resentment toward this Heavenly Disaster apocalypse—their happy, stable lives had been shattered without warning. Who would willingly accept that?
In their eyes, this Heavenly Disaster was no divine descent from a creator but rather a twisted game concocted by some sadistic aliens to torment humanity.
Not cursing it daily was already a sign of good temper. To glorify it as Divine Relics? That would be downright delusional.
Qin Zhiyu could understand both perspectives, though she still preferred to follow the other group in calling them Ruins.
In the early stages, as long as one didn’t act recklessly, Ruins were relatively easy to navigate. Difficult Ruins generally didn’t appear near Sanctuaries and were often located far away.
So her thought upon seeing this Ruins was that it wasn’t scary at all—it was actually a great place to shake off those two wild boars.
She recalled the Ferry Shelter she had traded with twice before. Qin Zhiyu had guessed that those strange and unusual items of his were most likely products from the Ruins.
Qin Zhiyu didn’t hesitate to use a Reconnaissance skill.
Huh? There were no creatures around at all?
Qin Zhiyu could only explain it as her arriving too early—the Ruins monsters hadn’t respawned yet, and the people hadn’t all gathered.
Since she was already here, there was no reason to leave empty-handed. She slowly walked forward.
Crack—
The smooth floor suddenly gave way. Qin Zhiyu had no time to react before she, along with the entire section of the floor, fell through.
“Ah, wuwuwu, this person almost landed on me! You scared me to death, Qian Di!”
“Baby, it’s okay, it’s okay. This person probably fell to their death. Don’t be afraid. We, the living, shouldn’t be scared of the dead…”
“No, no, I’ve suffered psychological trauma, wuwu.”
“Come here, let me hug you, Yuan Yuan. Once I hug you, you won’t be scared anymore.”
In the darkness, Xu Yuan couldn’t see Qian Di’s face, but just being held in his warm arms made her feel incredibly happy and secure.
Qin Zhiyu lay amidst the debris. Although she wasn’t seriously injured, hearing their conversation made her feel like her being alive had suddenly disrupted their sweet, loving atmosphere.
Unfortunately, she was more than happy to “help” the young couple.
Crash— Qin Zhiyu shook off the dust and debris covering her, forcibly drawing the attention of the cuddling couple.
“Ah, darling! This person seems to have come back to life! What do we do? Will they come after us?” Xu Yuan said, staring fearfully in the direction of Qin Zhiyu’s voice.
“What? Came back to life? How could that happen? Let’s go, Yuan Yuan!” Qian Di was genuinely startled by the idea of someone coming back to life and immediately reacted, ready to run.
“Open your eyes wide and take a good look. Not only have I come back to life, but I’m also going to eat you both—the man braised in soy sauce, the woman deep-fried!”
Qin Zhiyu couldn’t stand listening to these two drama queens any longer and spoke up.
“Y-Yuan Yuan, what do we do? Listen, she even wants to cook us!”
Qian Di hid behind Xu Yuan, his voice trembling as he spoke, momentarily losing his composure.
“Darling, I won’t allow her to treat you like this. Since she’s come back to life, I’ll just kill her again!”
Xu Yuan said calmly, using the same coquettish tone from earlier, even taking two steps toward Qin Zhiyu as she spoke.
“Get lost, idiots.”
Qin Zhiyu had adjusted to the darkness and noticed a door to the southwest. The madman couple had been chattering for a while, but there was no movement from behind the door. She quickly bypassed them, intending to enter the next room.
Qin Zhiyu opened the door and swiftly threw the stone she was holding into the room. The stone fell to the ground, rolling and clattering until it came to a stop.
She cautiously stepped into the room. No big threats.
Qin Zhiyu sensed that the madman couple had followed her in. Since they showed no clear hostile intent, she didn’t stop them and allowed them to enter.
“Di Di, I have a bad feeling. You have to protect me.”
Xu Yuan said, her unusually clear eyes scanning the darkness.
“Really, Yuan Yuan? Then let’s leave quickly. As long as we leave, we’ll be safe.” Qian Di replied, unconditionally trusting Xu Yuan’s words.
Qin Zhiyu’s pupils trembled slightly upon hearing Xu Yuan’s words—was her perception really that sharp? After all, he himself had only sensed a faint, elusive trace of something unusual.
“Snap!”