Heroes' Prison

Chapter 288 - 283: The Broken Temple on a Rainy Night

This idea, like a seed, quickly took root and sprouted in his mind.

In theory, the method was feasible: after evolving into that kind of creature, no one would be able to tell. Evolution wasn’t a disguise, but a true transformation into that creature, with flesh and breath indistinguishable from the original.

"Undead Flying Dragon, keep this strange creature in captivity for now, I might need it later," Huang Yi told the Undead Flying Dragon before turning away with Xiao Chunzi.

Afterward, Huang Yi and Xiao Chunzi went to the Tower of Pantheons.

At present, Huang Yi was at Level 63, while Xiao Chunzi was at Level 50. She was vigorously trying to awaken her Life Soul, but without the Eye of Time and after wasting many Experience Points, she was still just at the 6th Stage, with no telling when she would finish awakening it.

The same was true for Overlord, who had not only not gained any levels since his War Soul Awakening, but had actually dropped to Level 50, always maintaining that level, with any Experience Points obtained being funneled into his War Soul.

For this situation, Huang Yi was at a loss as his Eye of Time couldn’t help others.

So, Huang Yi walked through the forest, holding Xiao Chunzi’s hand, with the Tyrannosaurus Rex retracted by Xiao Chunzi, while Little Wang wagged his tail ahead of them, occasionally darting into the bushes to sniff around before emerging with his nose covered in mud. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves overhead. In this quiet and serene forest, the cicadas called tirelessly, instilling a sense of tranquility.

"Brother, I might have to leave for a while soon," Xiao Chunzi suddenly said, her tone slightly unusual.

"What’s wrong?" Huang Yi turned to look at her, gazing down at Xiao Chunzi from his angle, her long eyelashes curling up, accentuating her cuteness.

Shedding her usual mischievous demeanor, Xiao Chunzi appeared to have the concerns of a young girl. She pursed her lips and said, "Actually, the real reason I underwent Cold Storage was that I had a terminal illness, which is why I took a break from school. But now, medical science has advanced to where it can treat my illness, and I’ve been cured, so I don’t need to continue with Cold Storage. When school starts in September, I have to attend classes."

"That’s great news!" Huang Yi was taken aback for a moment, then reached out to pat her head. He hadn’t realized that Cold Storage was because of her illness. In the current world, terminal illnesses weren’t that big a deal; those who couldn’t be cured could be put into Cold Storage to wait for medical advancements. As long as the limit of Cold Storage wasn’t exceeded, they could be revived at any time. Xiao Chunzi was clearly one of the lucky ones; she hadn’t been in Cold Storage long before the day of her cure arrived.

"But I don’t want to go to school," Xiao Chunzi said, her mouth turning down as tears suddenly filled her eyes, "That school is so weird, it’s under lockdown management, no fun at all, it’s like a prison, I can only go home once a semester. What’s more important is that you can’t even bring virtual equipment in there. If I go to school, I can only see you again during the winter vacation." As she spoke, she looked up at Huang Yi, tears running down her cheeks, glistening in the sunlight.

Huang Yi cupped her small face, wiped away her tears, and spoke softly, "It’s not that long. It’s only a few months after all. Some people might spend their whole lives in a real prison. Compared to them, you’re very lucky indeed."

"But I wish I could stay sick forever, be Cold Stored forever, see you every day, and play carefree with you. I don’t want to do homework, I don’t want to go to class..." As Xiao Chunzi spoke, she threw herself into Huang Yi’s arms and began to cry.

Huang Yi gently patted Xiao Chunzi’s back, but he didn’t know how to console her. He had never gone to school himself; he didn’t know what it felt like for dozens of people to sit under one roof during class, nor did he understand the kind of friendship classmates shared. What he longed for was precisely what Xiao Chunzi detested.

"Brother, let’s go grind levels at the Tower of Pantheons, I want to work hard leveling up, by the time winter vacation comes, I’m sure I’ll have fallen far behind. I don’t want to be a drag; I hope I can help you, even if it’s just a little," Xiao Chunzi cried for a while, then wiped away her own tears and said to Huang Yi with an understanding look.

"Your presence is the biggest help to me," Huang Yi said with a slight smile, taking Xiao Chunzi’s hand and continuing to walk forward.

...

Slowly, the day passed, and another night descended.

Finally, Huang Yi and Xiao Chunzi completed their daily runs and could rest for a while. They climbed onto the Sea of Leaves, lying on a giant leaf and gazing up at the brilliant starry sky.

After a tiring day, Xiao Chunzi curled up in Huang Yi’s arms and fell into a deep sleep, while Huang Yi shifted his focus to his incarnation far on the other side.

Racing with the Velociraptor, his Incarnation was about to reach the seaside. He seemed to already smell the salty sea breeze, carrying a vast ocean smell many times greater than that of the land. As soon as he crossed this forest, he would arrive there.

The velociraptor had been sprinting all day and was already very tired, its speed having decreased significantly, but Huang Yi hadn’t issued an order to stop. Generally, it wouldn’t stop on its own and continued to run with all its might.

"Boom!" Just then, a clap of thunder suddenly sounded from the sky, and huge raindrops started to fall, signaling the start of a heavy rainstorm. The sky was completely covered by dark, heavy clouds; and a fierce wind began to blow through the forest, bending even the largest trees. In no time at all, travel became nearly impossible.

Huang Yi put away his mount and decided to find a place to take shelter from the rain.

At that moment, he was amidst a desolate mountainous area, with a ruined temple visible ahead. The crumbling walls were covered in green moss, showing signs of the passage of time. However, a faint light flickered inside the temple, as if someone had started a fire there.

Huang Yi was slightly surprised. In such a desolate wilderness, one wouldn’t expect to find any human presence, but to his amazement, on such a stormy and thunderous night, a light burned within the crumbling temple.

Faced with this eerie scene, he couldn’t help but become cautious. He immediately took a mask out of his storage ring and covered his face before entering the temple.

Once inside the ruined temple, Huang Yi finally got a clear view of what was happening.

In the center of the temple, a fire had been made, and next to it sat a man cloaked in beast skins. He seemed to have lived in the wilderness for years; his skin rough and darkened, muscles rugged. With a longbow on his back and a short knife at his waist, he looked to be a hunter.

At the moment, he was attentively roasting a rabbit over the fire. The rabbit had turned golden brown, its fats dripping down into the flames, sizzling, and filling the air with the tantalizing aroma of meat, which seemed even more enticing on this rainy night.

The hunter turned his head and glanced at Huang Yi, then nodded indifferently, "I didn’t expect to meet someone else in these wilds. To meet is fate; come on over and take a seat, brother!" The flickering firelight shone on him, casting his appearance in alternating light and shadow.

Huang Yi patted the rainwater off his clothes and went over to sit cross-legged by the fire.

"Brother, what brings you to these wilds?" the hunter asked, as he skillfully crumbled some wild herbs and sprinkled them over the roasting meat as if they were seasoning.

"I’m heading to the seaside," Huang Yi replied calmly. "What about you?"

"Me?" The hunter turned and looked outside the window, his tone slightly wistful, "I’m here because of someone."

"It seems as though you’ve been in the wild for quite a long time," Huang Yi observed, looking at the hunter. His demeanor was definitely that of one who had spent a lengthy period in the wilderness, like a true wild man. A normal person wouldn’t become like him after just a few days in the wild.

"Actually, I used to live in towns frequently, but for these past four or five months, I’ve been wandering in the wilderness, not seeing another soul. You’re the first person I’ve come across!" The hunter said, chuckling and shaking his head, "Actually, come to think of it, the last person I saw was not of small significance. You must have heard of him."

"Oh? Who is he?" Huang Yi raised his eyebrows, asking with interest.

"Instakill." The hunter pronounced the name solemnly, then closed his eyes for a while before reopening them, as if the name cast a shadow in his heart, "It’s because of him that I’ve been wandering the wilderness."

A shock ran through Huang Yi’s heart. He didn’t expect that here in this storm-ravaged temple, he would hear his own name mentioned by a person of whom he had no recollection.

He couldn’t help but recall that four or five months ago, he had just entered The Second World and didn’t have much interaction with many people. The first group of people he met were Chen Yuxi and the others. However, they had been killed and sent into reincarnation, so it was unlikely they’d be here, and besides, this man looked very unfamiliar, not at all like Chen Yuxi’s group.

Fortunately, Huang Yi wore a mask, and the hunter couldn’t recognize him. He asked nonchalantly, "Do you have a grudge against him?"

"Yes and no," the hunter said, his expression becoming slightly complex as he flipped the roasted meat, "What kind of person is he that he would know someone like me who is so insignificant?"

As the hunter spoke, he bit his lip with a slight sense of discontent, "But one day, I will make him recognize and respect me. I will show him that I am not just an inconsequential nobody."