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If this is a dungeon of the Desolate Corner, then when they enter this old house where someone died, there must be some omens to indicate the nature of this dungeon.
Wenli walked into the courtyard, paused, and turned back to make a gesture for silence. The staff member behind her immediately jumped to his feet; at this crucial moment, he wanted to show his courage, but his legs were shaking so badly he refused to move forward.
Once Wenli got into the zone, he forgot about the staff behind him. In the instance, apart from the closest friends, the other players were all looking after their own things; non-interference was the premise of cooperation.
Most people are used to acting alone, and Wenli was no exception. She half-squatted down, reached for a wooden stick, and didn't make a sound.
The tall, strong young man behind him was so affected by the atmosphere that he stopped breathing in fear, even in broad daylight.
"Um...!" The man wanted to say something to ease the tension, but Wenli in front of him suddenly turned his head, his eyes sharp as knives, cutting off his next words in an instant.
'Another NPC who's dragging us down,' Wenli thought without hesitation. She kicked the old, dilapidated wooden door, which crashed to the ground with a loud bang. She grabbed a stick and rushed inside.
"Ah! Ugh." A half-scream came from inside, followed by a dull thud as something heavy fell to the ground.
Only then did the staff member snap out of that terrifying murderous aura: "Huh? Eh?! Wait for me."
The staff rushed in, and the live-streaming fly followed. Amidst the swirling dust, light streamed through the window into the dimly lit room, landing on the woman with her back straight.
Wenli, wearing a skirt with a slit, lifted her long skirt, revealing a pointed leather shoe pressing down on the head of a man lying on the ground. The man was already unconscious; the murder weapon was a wooden stick. The stick struck him squarely on the back of the neck, and he collapsed instantly.
She turned to look at the staff and the live-streaming fly, her expression calm: "There's a rope over there, come and tie someone up."
"Oh? Oh," a staff member quickly ran over, picked up a rope to tie the person up, and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong with this person?"
"Keep an eye on things. Be careful, he has accomplices." Wenli said before walking out the door. "I'll go check the side and make sure there are no future problems."
To kill, you must finish the job; to eliminate an enemy, you must nip them in the bud. This is the survival rule of the desolate corner.
The staff looked into the corner and discovered several cages piled up there, each containing several birds with brightly colored feathers.
"Poachers?" He finally understood, but another question arose in his mind, "How did she find out?"
Wenli walked out and looked down at her hands. They were fair and slender hands, as if they were carefully maintained every day, but it was this very hand that had almost killed someone just now.
If it weren't for the noise outside reminding her that this wasn't a dungeon world, the hairpin in her hair would have already gotten stuck in the gap between the poacher's skull and spine, severing the spinal cord.
A few years in the desolate corner can change their lives; people return to the ordinary, but their souls are still restless.
"You can start to slowly get used to life as an ordinary person." That's what Ren Yifei said when he invited them. They initially thought it wouldn't be a big problem, but now they think... maybe they can take a few more days off.
"Miss Wenli." The staff member, who had hurriedly tied up the poacher and was pale with fright, ran out. He had never experienced anything so thrilling in his life, and his heart was still pounding wildly.
He didn't want to be in the same house as a highly dangerous poacher, even if the man was unconscious and tied up.
"Hmm." Wenli, who had calmed down, turned around and smiled. Her delicate eyebrows and eyes were gilded by the sunlight. The staff were in a daze and could hardly remember the fierce look of this woman just a few minutes ago.
"Is it tied up?"
Her words brought the staff back to reality, and for a couple of seconds they understood Xu Xian's shock at discovering his wife was a snake demon.
"Uh, umm, I tied a knot that's impossible to untie. Um, did you call the police?"
Call the police?
Wenli paused for a moment before remembering that for ordinary people facing these difficult situations, the first option is to 'call the police'.
"Come on," she said. "My phone is almost out of battery."
The staff member immediately called the police. After hanging up, he couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering him: "How did Ms. Wenli know there were people inside?"
Wenli looked at the somewhat clueless and bewildered staff member and let out a weary sigh: "Footprints on the ground, birdsong in the room."
Such an obvious clue, right in front of him and he couldn't even see it. If this were in some desolate corner, he would have died a hundred times over.
Of course, this person probably won't be able to get into the Desolate Corner; it wasn't possible before, and it's even less likely now.
"What a lucky fool," she thought.
What Wenli didn't know was that they were actually the second people to report the poachers being caught; the first to report it was the people who went into the mountains.
Rewind five minutes, when they were still trekking through the dense forest, it was He Jun who first noticed something unusual.
They were passing through a dense bamboo forest, where birds flitted about like leaping musical notes. Light filtered through the bamboo leaves, transforming into shimmering butterflies.
The wind rustles through the bamboo grove, creating a soft sound, while the clear chirping of birds evokes the pecking sounds that disturb one's peaceful dreams in the early morning.
"There's an unusual smell in the forest." Crane looked up into the depths of the woods. He smelled metal, engine oil, and gunpowder. Moreover, the birds seemed unusually uneasy.
"What?" The mountain guardian was still trying to identify the various bird calls overhead. Each bird had a different call, and the guardian, who spent years in the mountains, could tell them apart. She had just been thinking that the birdsong was louder than usual today, and that something must have happened.
"Ah..." Upon sensing the danger, the butterfly's somewhat dazed eyes suddenly lit up, as if some mysterious switch had been turned on.
He looked at something with unprecedented speed and stretched out his hand to the mountain keeper: "May I borrow your musket?"
"A musket? Is that what you mean? No, this is..." Before the mountain guard could finish speaking, the hunting rifle in his hand was easily in Butterfly's hands.
He only needed one glance to know what kind of shotgun it was modified from and what its specifications were.
The butterfly supported the gun and disengaged the safety with an extremely professional and skilled posture.
"Wait a minute!" The mountain guard's expression immediately changed. The rules stipulated that this gun could not be used lightly, and it must never fall into the hands of other people.
But it was too late to say all that now. Butterfly turned his head slightly and closed his eyes: "Shh—"
The crowd was silent for two seconds, but those two seconds were enough.
"I heard it." The sound of clothes rubbing against grass was so clear.
Butterfly pulled the trigger, and two tranquilizer darts flew directly towards a grassy area on a hillside. The impact of the darts produced two short, piercing sounds.
However, the people present heard three gunshots, which were even slightly faster than the sounds coming from Butterfly's side.
"Watch out! It's a poacher!" The mountain guardian, who often dealt with poachers, immediately understood what was happening and rushed towards the nearest guest.
"Don't worry, it's alright." The mountain guardian didn't fall; Chen Shen pulled her steady with one arm.
Because of Chen Shen's effective dodge, the tranquilizer dart that flew from the bushes pierced the bamboo behind them.
"Wait here for a moment, it will be over in two minutes."
Chen Shen put down the mountain guardian, and the gentleness on her face vanished instantly. Like a nimble cheetah, she leaped into the grass.
"Be careful...!" The mountain guardian's voice stopped abruptly. She saw Chen Shen, like a falcon carrying two chicks, leading two poachers out of the bushes, one in each hand.
She tossed the poachers, who had been shot with tranquilizer darts but were not yet unconscious, onto the ground: "I stepped on their hands, they should be fine now, right?"
The others glanced at the wailing poachers and their obviously broken right hands: "They're fine."
As long as I don't die, it's not a big deal. If I do die... well, so be it.
Chen Shen nodded: "Oh right, there's also a hunting rifle, a pangolin, and two backpacks over there."
"I'll go get it!" Feeling that he finally had a chance to use his skills, the mountain guardian went to get the item.
The two tour staff members, who had been completely bewildered the whole time, finally understood what had happened. Their jaws dropped: Where did the delicate, weak, and powerless entertainment industry person go?
"Then what are we going to do?" The two of them exchanged a glance, feeling somewhat superfluous.
"Uh, wait a minute, let me call the police first."
Because of the unexpected arrival of poachers, both groups had to abandon their plans and return to the village. Meanwhile, the internet was abuzz with discussion.
"Who are Feifei's friends? They're all so handsome and good at fighting, wow! Does Sister Wenli like well-behaved boys? Wait for me for six months, I'm going to get a gender reassignment surgery first."
"Butterfly is so damn cool! Just a moment ago she was a cute, innocent little creature with a strange curiosity, but the moment she picked up a shotgun, she transformed into a jungle hunter! I'm in love!"
"Waaaaah, Sister Chen Shen... How can someone be both gentle and strong, making me feel so safe? This is the first time I've realized that my true ideal partner is a strong, older woman."
That was so cool! He dealt with the poachers hiding in the shadows and armed with guns so quickly and efficiently—even a screenwriter wouldn't dare to write something like that!
"Where is that game company? I want to find a girlfriend there who can protect me, and who's as pretty as Sister Chen Shen."
"What sweet dreams are you having upstairs in broad daylight?"
"Get out of the way, I'm so angry, I'll wake him up."
The director in the office had seen everything, and he slammed his fist on the table in excitement. The table was fine, but he scraped his finger and howled in pain.
Looking at the director who was gasping for breath despite having a minor cut, and then at the handsome guests in the video who remained calm even when Mount Tai collapsed before them, the assistant immediately understood the audience's excitement.
This is the kind of touching feeling where a dream comes true. Okay, enough of that, he's going to chase his stars for a bit.
While chatting with the elderly folks at the village entrance, Ke Bei and Shan Chuan learned about the village's history and all the historical figures it had produced. Soon after, they learned about other people's encounters with poachers.
"Xiao Bei, you should go and see your friend. What a tragedy! These poachers are vicious and wicked!" The old woman addressed Xiao Bei as "Xiao Bei" repeatedly, treating him like a close younger relative.
"Okay." Ke Bei smiled and followed the old lady's words, "I'll go right away."
In truth, he felt no emotional fluctuation; he even thought: "It's just that the poachers are having a bad year, and this calamity is to befall them."
As for Shanchuan, he continued playing chess, his expression as calm as a lake.
Samantha found out around the same time when a child who was tasting the food at the door ran over to tell him, and he even rewarded the child with a sweet stir-fried meat dish.
"They encountered poachers?" Ren Yifei learned about this after Saman; he was the last to find out.
"Is the poacher alright?" Ren Yifei asked worriedly. "Could he have killed him with a single hand?"
"...ah?"