Lu Shiyin and Shen Yan had collaborated for a long time and shared similar interests. It was precisely because of this that Shen Yan had dared to write the letter, telling Xu Qingsui to take it and seek Lu Shiyin’s help.

Having known Shen Yan for so long, he had always assumed the man would eventually end up with his little follower, Liang Xiaoxiao. He hadn’t expected him to have already given his heart to someone else.

And what intrigued him the most was that, even now, Shen Yan hadn’t confessed his feelings—it was entirely unrequited love!

This was simply too amusing, making him highly intrigued by Xu Qingsui as well.

Seeing that Lu Shiyin hadn’t revealed his identity, Xu Qingsui wasn’t in a hurry to expose him either. After all, the situation just now had been far too awkward; if she brought it up directly, she wouldn’t even know how to face him. Whatever needed to be said could wait until they entered the safe zone.

With a word of acknowledgment, Lu Shiyin took the initiative to help Xu Qingsui tow the car out and change the spare tire. Although neither said much during the process, once the repairs were done, Lu Shiyin actively invited Xu Qingsui to head to the safe zone together.

Xu Qingsui was naturally delighted to have a guide and immediately followed Lu Shiyin toward the safe zone.

However, just as the two were about to reach the safe zone, an intense tremor rolled in from ahead. Knowing something was wrong, Lu Shiyin couldn’t even bother to wait for Xu Qingsui as he sped up toward the safe zone. Seeing this, Xu Qingsui also accelerated, following closely behind.

When the two arrived at the gates of the safe zone, they saw the entire area enveloped in a visible, glass-like barrier. The main gate emanated a light resembling water ripples, exuding a chilling, eerie aura. Beside the gate stood a bulletin board with a metallic sheen, engraved with a series of rules.

[To the brave and fearless warriors: 1: The sun’s passion will always harm those who try to pander to it. No matter how much you love it, do not expose yourself to it at noon. 2: The endless expanse of the desert is always dotted with colors. It could be a blue ocean, or a green oasis. But a red sea of sand is taboo. Do not try to approach it. If you see it, run! 3: In the desert, your companions are your strongest backing. Never act alone, or you will never see your companions again. 4: After 72 hours, everyone who can walk out of here safely will live peacefully and happily under the sun.]

Reading the text on the metallic board, Xu Qingsui was astonished. Were these the rules of the instance? She wondered if the instance had already opened during the tremor just now, and if they had returned too late.

While she was still in shock, Lu Shiyin was already preparing to step into the water ripples. Seeing this, Xu Qingsui hurriedly called out, “Wait for me! I’ll go with you!”

Lu Shiyin glanced at her. He originally wanted to refuse, but suddenly recalling the description in Shen Yan’s letter, he ultimately nodded.

Without hesitation, the two entered the instance one after the other. Just as they stepped in, Apocalypse leaped down from the camper van and followed them inside.

“We’re late. I wonder what the setting of this instance is?”

As they spoke, the two people and one cat had already arrived in a desolate desert. Looking into the distance, there was nothing but an endless stretch of gravel and sand.

Lu Shiyin noticed Apocalypse and looked a bit surprised, but he quickly returned to normal and answered, “Based on past situations, these are all survival-type instances. As long as the people inside can hold out until the end, they can clear the instance.”

Xu Qingsui raised an eyebrow. This was her first time encountering this kind of instance. She thought it sounded relatively simple compared to others; all they had to do was survive.

Although she didn’t voice these thoughts, looking at her expression, Lu Shiyin had pretty much guessed what was on her mind.

“Don’t be careless. It’s not going to be as easy as you think!

“In the time to come, you’ll face extremely harsh conditions and be restricted at every turn. It won’t be a walk in the park.”

Hearing Lu Shiyin say this, Xu Qingsui immediately grew serious. After all, she was a newcomer; it was best to listen to Lu Shiyin.

“Then what should we do next?” she asked.

“Every time an instance opens, it drags all the residents of the safe zone into it. We need to find the others as quickly as possible and ensure that as many people survive as we can.”

Lu Shiyin’s words were quite passionate, making Xu Qingsui change her opinion of him. Following in his footsteps, Xu Qingsui soon understood the difficulty of this survival instance.

A blazing sun beat down from above. Logically, it should have been a cool evening by now, but the scorching heat overhead didn’t diminish in the slightest. It wasn’t long before they became unbearably thirsty. And in the desert, the most scarce resource was water.

Xu Qingsui dragged her heavy steps. At this point, even sweating had become a luxury. If they continued like this, she would definitely suffer from dehydration.

Just as she felt she couldn’t hold on any longer, a bottle of mineral water was held out to her.

Xu Qingsui looked at Lu Shiyin with astonishment, not quite daring to take it. After all, in this kind of environment, such a resource was far too precious. Lu Shiyin didn’t speak. He simply pushed the water bottle a bit closer to her, and only then did Xu Qingsui gingerly accept it.

Finally tasting water, Xu Qingsui was like a dehydrated fish, greedily wanting to drain the entire bottle at once. However, thinking of Lu Shiyin, she restrained her impulse and handed the remaining half of the bottle back to him.

Seeing that Xu Qingsui was actually still thinking of him, Lu Shiyin’s eyes flickered. “I still have more here. You drink it! But in this kind of situation, make sure not to take gulps that are too big, or your body won’t be able to handle it.”

Xu Qingsui hesitated. Seeing that Lu Shiyin didn’t have any water in his hands, she didn’t dare to drink anymore.

“Don’t worry, the one thing I don’t lack is resources!” To reassure her, Lu Shiyin smiled and pulled several more bottles of mineral water out of his Storage Space.

Only then did Xu Qingsui remember Shen Yan’s introduction of Lu Shiyin. Relieved, she finished the water in her hands.

But as the two conversed, neither noticed that the yellow sand not far behind them had suddenly begun to change. The originally golden gravel looked as if it were seeping blood, dyeing the sand a bright crimson. Moreover, the bright red stretch of sand seemed to possess a life of its own, slowly creeping toward the two of them.

After drinking the water, Xu Qingsui’s physical discomfort was visibly alleviated. She immediately urged Lu Shiyin to hurry and look for the other residents.

Right at that moment, the two finally realized that the red sea of sand was about to reach their feet. Recalling the rules of the instance, Lu Shiyin grabbed Xu Qingsui and prepared to flee.

But it was clearly too late. The sea of sand moved with even greater speed, arriving at their feet in the span of a single breath. Immediately after, something grabbed both of their ankles, dragging them down into the depths of the sandy sea.

The incident happened so suddenly that neither of them even had time to react. Just as they were about to be swallowed up in the blink of an eye, a dark shadow suddenly darted in front of Xu Qingsui.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.