The spring breeze was not dry, and the gentle wind was just right.
Qin Lan lay on the soft wool bed, with the faint sound of flowing water in her ears.
She felt as if she hadn't slept so comfortably in a long time.
She dreamt of herself lying carefree on the ground during an afternoon in her childhood, when suddenly, a purple door-sized blade and a pair of scarlet eyes tore through her dream.
"Ah…"
She sat up abruptly, gasping for air, her forehead covered in a cold sweat.
Due to dehydration, every breath felt like knives scraping her throat.
"You're awake…"
At this moment, a man's voice sounded.
She looked towards the voice and saw a person sitting by a pool, holding a strange fishing rod and fishing.
"Where is this? Who are you?"
Her voice was hoarse, and the pain made her eyebrows furrow.
"Me? My name is Leon, madam.
This is my Minecraft.
It's a pleasure to meet you."
Leon reeled in his fishing rod and walked over to the woman, looking down at her.
To be fair, her figure was indeed good, especially when wrapped in yoga clothes.
"You… your Minecraft?"
"That's right, but before we chat, you can introduce yourself, such as your name, age, gender, where you're from, and so on…"
Qin Lan's expression froze slightly as she said, "My name is Qin Lan…"
"Did you save me? What was that black monster before?"
Upon hearing her name, Leon exclaimed, "That's a good name; it sounds like a female lead."
Get rid of her! Must get rid of her!
That name, keeping her around would only cause trouble.
"You said you encountered a black monster?"
Leon didn't know about her experience, nor was he interested in knowing it.
Today, it seemed only one Entity, the Bacteria, was exchanged for energy points.
"What you're talking about is a Bacteria.
It's considered one of the weaker monsters in the Backrooms.
Don't worry, it will at most only kill people."
"At most"? "Only"?
The image of that Bacteria rushing towards her flashed in Qin Lan's mind, and she slowly formed a question mark.
As he spoke, Leon walked to the Charred Furnace, opened the interface, and took out some grilled fish, putting them into his backpack.
This was the main product of his fishing.
Enchanted books were available but scarce.
Besides fish, there were mostly fishing rods, fishing rods with various attributes…
Leon took a grilled fish and sat directly on the Charred Furnace, carefully eating it.
Although he didn't add any seasoning, the grilled fish was truly flavorful and delicious.
However, on second thought, from being caught to being cooked, the total time exposed to the air was no more than five seconds.
If it wasn't fresh, that would be truly strange.
"Later, I'll take you to Level 1 to find the M.E.G. people and hand you over to them."
"Of course, if you don't want to, I won't force you.
I'll send you back to where I found you."
Qin Lan looked at the grilled fish in Leon's hand.
Though her mouth had been dry, saliva miraculously began to secrete again, but her good upbringing prevented her from opening her mouth to ask for it.
"What is M.E.G.?"
Leon took out a document from his backpack and threw it to Qin Lan:
"This is an introduction to M.E.G. and the Backrooms.
You can read it yourself."
Qin Lan caught the document.
The logo on it was a soaring eagle, but this eagle had no head, only a cube.
Below it was the organization's name.
[M.E.G. Explorers Group]
Grumble…
Before she could even flip through it, her stomach rumbled restlessly, and waves of hunger assailed her nerves.
Leon looked at Qin Lan with a half-smile and said, "Hungry?"
"Mm."
Qin Lan was clearly a bit embarrassed, her face turning slightly red.
"Oh… you'll get used to it if you just endure it."
Qin Lan: "…"
Fortunately, her upbringing was good, otherwise, she really couldn't help but curse out loud.
And Leon, seeing Qin Lan's constipated expression, suddenly burst out laughing, then took a bottle of almond water from his backpack, walked to her side, handed it to her, and said:
"I've been here for a while, and sometimes some mischievous thoughts pop into my head.
This is almond water, also considered one of the important supplies in the Backrooms.
The document I gave you has an introduction about it."
"You must remember, to survive in the Backrooms, you must observe and differentiate carefully.
Never be as unconventional as me, otherwise, even death might be a luxury for you."
Qin Lan didn't persist.
She was truly at her wit's end now.
She reached out and took the almond water Leon handed her, and thanked him.
Leon just smiled, watching Qin Lan drink all the almond water.
The nutrients and ample water contained in the almond water made Qin Lan feel like she had come back to life.
"Just give me the bottle."
The bottle could be thrown into the Charred Furnace to be smelted into Iron.
Save where you can, spend where you must.
Leon reached out and took the bottle, which resembled a thermos, and said:
"Let's go, we can set off now.
You can ask me any questions on the way."
Qin Lan could tell that Leon didn't seem to welcome her staying there.
She couldn't do anything about it, but as long as there were people around, it was better than being in that strange space before.
She stood up and followed behind Leon.
Only then did she have time to survey her surroundings.
Everything around seemed to be made of blocks.
In the distance, there was a Villagers, and she could see some figures working in the fields, as well as some peculiar, perfectly square creatures scurrying around, not knowing what they were doing.
Soon, her pupils contracted sharply, because she saw the familiar 'door-sized blade' and the owner of those scarlet eyes.
"What… what is that?"
"Hmm, Iron Golems are considered the guardians of the Villagers.
They have very good tempers, and sometimes they even give you poppies…"
Of course, provided you are not their enemy.
Otherwise, they will let you know what a body of steel feels like.
Arriving at the wooden door leading to Level 1, Qin Lan glanced at the sign on the wooden door, then Leon opened the wooden door, revealing the scene of Level 1's 'Abandoned Warehouse'.
The fog was clearly behind, but opening the door revealed an indoor scene, which surprised her greatly.
"This is Level 1, considered a relatively suitable place for survival.
The only trouble is that the space is not very stable, and it's easy to run into other levels."
Closing the wooden door, Leon directly took out a small sightseeing car from his backpack, the kind that could only accommodate two people.
Sitting in the driver's seat, Leon patted the passenger seat, a smile on his face, and said, "Get in quickly."
Qin Lan: "…"
She now felt that her perception seemed to be experiencing issues.
The man in front of her was full of mysteries.
-------------------------------
I've just uploaded the latest chapters on Patreon!
If you're following this story and want to read ahead, come check it out and support me there!
Here's the link: [patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you all so much for always being with me!