Chapter 285: Qimu Xi

GOR Chapter 285: Qimu Xi

Chen Xiaolian watched the figure standing some distance away. From what he can see, the distance between them was less than 100 meters. The other party was not too tall and there was a strange looking cloak on the person’s head. The cloak covered his head while dust covered his body. He seemed like he had just been dug out from the ground.

“Since you are here, why not come over and have a chat?”

Chen Xiaolian smiled and jumped down the SUV. Then, he slowly walked toward the figure.

The figure stood there without making a move – Chen Xiaolian could sense that this fellow was hesitating.

“I mean you no harm,” Chen Xiaolian shouted loudly. “At any rate, this preparation phase forbids participants to kill each other. Is there a need for you to be so nervous?”

After saying that, Chen Xiaolian deliberately spread out his arms before continuing to approach the figure.

The figure suddenly retreated and continued to take a few steps backward.

Chen Xiaolian felt as though the pair of eyes looking at him was filled with fear.

“Hey? Why aren’t you coming over? Since we’ve encountered each other, just come over,” Chen Xiaolian shouted loudly once again. “I’m not going to eat you.”

The other party suddenly turned and ran!

Chen Xiaolian’s face turned into a sneer and he whistled.

Xiu!

Garfield’s figure shot out from within the SUV!

He split into three Four-Eyed War Cats and charged swiftly like the wind as he pursued the running figure!

Garfield whose Agility was such that he could learn how to split into doppelgangers possessed an incredible level of speed!

The cloak-wearing fellow ran as fast as he could. However, he was incapable of outrunning Garfield.

Chen Xiaolian smiled coolly and moved into the SUV. After starting it up, he turned the SUV around and chased after the running figure.

After stepping on the throttle a few times, the SUV finally caught up with the fellow.

The fellow’s breath was out of sorts after having to run so fast and the sound of his gasps were becoming increasingly unstable. He even began to stagger as he ran.

Chen Xiaolian deduced that this fellow’s attributes were likely not that high – it was highly likely that he had not enhanced his body. Even if he had, the amount of enhancement done was miniscule.

The three Garfield doppelgangers followed Chen Xiaolian’s orders to simply chase behind the fellow. Any of them could have jumped onto the fellow and press him to the ground. However, they did not do so and simply ran behind the figure.

The SUV gradually caught up and Chen Xiaolian drove beside the running figure.

The running figure turned around and saw Chen Xiaolian’s smiling face through the windows of the SUV. He screamed out sharply and ran.

This time, after running over 10 meters, the figure was finally incapable of keeping it up. He fell on his knees to the ground. Using his hands to support himself, he gasped for breath.

A “gazhi” sound could be heard as Chen Xiaolian brought the SUV to a halt. He then strode out toward the figure and signalled to the Garfield doppelgangers not to make any moves.

Chen Xiaolian walked until he was behind the figure. Then, he reached out with his hand and pulled the figure up by the back of his clothes.

‘”Ah! What are you doing?”

A panicked voice screamed out.

“Saving your life! Do you want to trigger a sudden cardiac death?” Chen Xiaolian answered with a sneer. He slipped his arm through the figure’s armpit and pulled him up. Then, he supported the figure as he walked him forward, forcing the figure’s legs to step forward in accordance to his rhythm.

The fellow was somewhat short. However, Chen Xiaolian was not that tall himself and was only about a head taller than the fellow.

“You… let me go!”

After being forced by Chen Xiaolian to take over 10 steps, the fellow suddenly struggled to extricate himself.

Chen Xiaolian felt as the fellow’s body stiffened before he began to struggle.

In the mid of the chaos, Chen Xiaolian’s hand suddenly felt as though it had gripped onto a clump of soft…

Seemingly struck by electric, Chen Xiaolian suddenly let go, his body jumping back instantly.

The fellow cried out sharply and fell to the ground. It was a miserable looking fall, which caused the fellow’s figure to stagger. When the figure attempted to stand up once more, the cloak covering his head fell to the ground, revealing a dirty face. Tears flowed out from the figure’s eyes and the dust on his cheeks were washed away by the tears. A clear white line appeared where the stream of tears was formed.

This fellow is… crying?

Chen Xiaolian lowered his head to look at his hands. Back then… it seemed as though… he grabbed onto something…

“Hey… err, sorry about that. I… I really didn’t know you are a female.”

…

This person was actually a female girl.

Short bob hair – seemingly rather unkempt as well.

However, if one were to carefully look at it, one would be able to discern the contours of a female.

Chen Xiaolian assessed her face in detail and found that she still possessed a baby face – no, perhaps she was a natural born baby face. There was still baby fat on her face. As for her pupils, they were as black as ink.

She was not too tall, only about 160 centimetres or less.

Mm, she is a female all right.

Additionally, recalling the feeling I got from my hands earlier…

It would appear… she is well endowed…

…

It seemed the girl was terribly frightened and she cried for a long time. She cried her heart out in a way that seemed as though all the grievances festering in the world was resting solely on her shoulders.

In the beginning, Chen Xiaolian patiently waited beside her. Two minutes later however, he became somewhat impatient.

He sighed and said, “Hey! Will you please stop crying? What happened just now was an accident… how could I know who you are? You secretly approached me. How was I to know if you hold any malicious intent… besides, what happened earlier only happened because I was trying to help you.”

“You, you, you dare say you were helping me…” The girl raised her head and she stared at Chen Xiaolian with a furious pair of round eyes.

“I was helping you,” said Chen Xiaolian with a smile. “You ran like crazy for that long only to suddenly stop like that. When one exercises vigorously and suddenly stops, there would be a heavy burden on the heart. Are you not afraid of dying due to that? After an intense workout, one must do slower workouts – surely you understand this logic?”

“I…” The girl gritted her teeth while wearing a shameful expression on her face.

“Enough!” Chen Xiaolian looked at the girl who could not get it. “Don’t forget where we are and who we are! Don’t act like you are an ordinary person. We are in an instance dungeon. You and me, we are both Awakened ones. Don’t you think there is something more important to do besides crying?”

An expression of fear appeared on the girl’s face and she shrunk her body back as she shivered. She said, “I… I… I mean no harm.”

“Mean no harm?” Chen Xiaolian smiled and said, “You sneakily approached me. Now that I have caught you, you dare tell me you mean no harm?”

“I really mean you no harm!”

The girl shouted until her throat became hoarse. She sobbed twice before whispering in frustration, “I… I caught the smell of food coming from here. I… I’m feeling very hungry.”

She blinked as she looked at Chen Xiaolian with a pair of eyes similar to animals waiting to be fed.

Chen Xiaolian laughed. “Hungry?”

“Yes. I haven’t eaten anything since last night, not even a drop of water,” said the girl with a grieving expression. “I’m so scared. I’m scared that I will starve to death…”

Then, a series of growling sounds came bursting out from her stomach.

Hearing the sound caused Chen Xiaolian to become momentarily shocked. After that, he was unable to stop himself from laughing out. “Heavens! Did I really encounter an Awakened who nearly starved to death?”

He leaned closer and looked down at the girl. He said, “Hey, you are an Awakened after all. Didn’t you bring some rations before entering this instance dungeon? Don’t you know something as basic as this? Or could you actually be that dumb?”

The girl sobbed before raising her head and replying, “I, I am not dumb! I, I did bring my own rations!”

“Oh? Then where is it?”

“Lo… lost it…” The girl timidly replied.

“Lost?”

“Mm…” The girl hesitated for a moment before she continued with a look of shame and frustration, “Yesterday… in the evening, I, I encountered a pack of wolves… I got chased by them. In the chaos, I lost by bag…”

Chen Xiaolian could not help but burst out laughing.

He regarded the girl…

For an Awakened to panic after encountering a few wolves and forced to run… even for an Awakened, wasn’t this a little too weak?

“And? That’s why you approached me? What did you want?”

“I, I just wanted to see if there is any opportunity to borrow some food from you…”

“Borrow? I think you mean steal.”

The girl’s face turned red – although her face was blackened by dust and it was not possible to see her facial features, he was able to see the panic in her eyes.

Chen Xiaolian had spoken her mind – she had indeed wanted to steal his food.

“I have never seen a thief as dumb as you,” said Chen Xiaolian as he laughed. “Didn’t you see me driving an SUV. For someone to be able to bring vehicles into an instance dungeon, they must have storage equipment. Did you think you could steal items from people of such calibre?”

“I… I have no other options,” said the girl who wrinkled her nose. “Besides, didn’t the system state that the first phase forbids killing each other…”

“In that case, why did you run?”

“I… I am afraid.”

Chen Xiaolian was left speechless.

He was able to deduce that not only was this girl lacking in strength, she was, most importantly, lacking in IQ. Additionally… she was likely just a rookie.

“How many instance dungeons have you participated in?”

“… this is my second.” Tears suddenly trickled down the girl’s face.

Well… as expected, she is a rookie.

Chen Xiaolian could more or less speculate what the girl went through.

Most likely, she was sucked into her previous instance dungeon and became an Awakened. However, due to her terrible state of mind, she failed her first instance dungeon.

Next, she was sent to a punishment instance dungeon.

Considering her qualities, the most likely outcome would be to die in a punishment instance dungeon and disappear from this world without having made a single ripple.

That was the fate of most Awakened ones.

Thinking about that, Chen Xiaolian produced a can of sardine, opened it up and handed it over.

“?”

The girl raised her head and looked at the can that Chen Xiaolian was handing over. Although she was still fearful, the scent of food coming from it made it impossible for her to direct her gaze away.

“For… for me to eat?” The girl asked Chen Xiaolian.

“Mm, what else? Did you think I pulled this out to have fun looking at it?” Chen Xiaolian pursed his lips to the side.

The girl hesitated for a bit before extending her hand to accept the can. Suddenly, she pulled her hand back and took two steps backward. She hugged herself and looked at Chen Xiaolian fearfully before shouting out, “I… I am not going to do that kind of transaction! I also will not warm your bed!”

Hearing that, Chen Xiaolian nearly spat out blood!

“You bastard! What nonsense are you spouting!” Chen Xiaolian stepped forward and grabbed the girl’s arm. Pulling her up, he then stuffed the can into her hands. “If you don’t want to die, then hurry up and eat it! Don’t spout so much nonsense!”

Chen Xiaolian gripped the girl tightly. She was not as strong as Chen Xiaolian and was unable to struggle her way out of his grip. All she could do was hold onto the can of sardine and wait for Chen Xiaolian to release her. After Chen Xiaolian relaxed his grip, she quickly ran several steps backward and fell to the ground.

“Then, I can really eat it? You, you won’t ask anything excessive of me, will you?”

“If you don’t want to eat, then just throw it away!” Chen Xiaolian fiercely stared at the girl.

The girl hesitated for a moment but was finally unable to fight off the scent of food coming from it. She reached out with her hand and pulled out a piece of sardine from the can and stuffed it into her mouth.

She seemed to be really hungry. In just two minutes, she was able to empty the entire contents of the can of sardine. After that, she cast a pitiful expression at Chen Xiaolian while stretching her neck out.

Chen Xiaolian sighed and tossed a bottle of mineral water over.

The girl was overjoyed. She gulped down half the contents of the bottle in one gulp. As for the other half, she hesitated and turned to look at Chen Xiaolian.

“No need to return it to me. You can keep it.” Chen Xiaolian waved his hand.

“… thank you.”

Chen Xiaolian looked at the girl and said, “You face is dirty, go wash it. I still have a lot of water with me, there is no need for you to save it.”

The girl vigilantly regarded Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian thought of something and carefully looked at the girl. “What? Ah… the dust on your face, did you purposely smear them on?”

“… … …” It appeared that he had caught onto what the girl was thinking. She looked at Chen Xiaolian cautiously.

After hesitating somewhat, she finally said in a hushed tone, “Brother said… when I am alone, I need to make my face dirty. That way, when I meet bad guys, I will be able to protect myself…”

Chen Xiaolian smiled and said, “Brother? You have a brother? Is he also an Awakened? Where is he?”

“… dead.” Sadness suddenly appeared on the girl’s face before she started bawling her eyes out once more. “Brother died! Died… he died in the last instance dungeon… wu wu wu wu wu… …”

Chen Xiaolian frowned and asked, “Died?”

He watched as the girl knelt on the ground, crying. After a moment of hesitation, he finally decided against inquiring into the matter.

This kind of thing… truth be told, there was nothing much to ask.

Dying in an instance dungeon… was a normal thing.

He sighed and looked at the girl again before slowly saying, “All right then… since there is nothing else, let’s go our separate ways.”

The girl raised her head and looked helplessly at Chen Xiaolian; she bit her lips.

Although Chen Xiaolian felt somewhat unwilling…

He was no longer a rookie who was facing his first instance dungeon.

His current level of strength would barely be enough to protect himself in this instance dungeon.

As for this girl in front of him, she was obviously a burden. Her strength was poor and she had a timid character.

If he brought this kind of person along, she would definitely drag him down.

Thinking about that, Chen Xiaolian then suppressed the feelings of soft-heartedness within his heart. He turned around and walked away. After entering the SUV, he whistled and Garfield jumped into the SUV as well.

“Then, I’ll take my leave.” Chen Xiaolian waved goodbye to the girl from inside the SUV. “I’ll give you an advice from the goodness of my heart… your strength is too lacking. It would be better for you to find a place to hide and wait for the instance dungeon to end… if your luck is good, you would be able to survive. If not…”

After saying that, Chen Xiaolian stopped.

Considering the girl’s strength, he judged that she would most likely fail to make it out alive.

After having said that, he started up the SUV and turned it around before slowly driving away.

Behind him, the girl quietly stood up. She looked at the SUV that was already far away. For some unknown reason, she then walked in the direction taken by the SUV.

She moved very quickly as she tried to catch up to the SUV. However, the SUV then accelerated. Although the girl tried to run as fast as she could, the distance between them gradually pulled further apart.

In the end, she fell to the ground with a plop. She knelt on the ground as she looked at the SUV from afar; she began crying.

…

After driving a distance of over 100 meters, Chen Xiaolian was unable to stop himself from looking at the rear view mirror. When he saw the girl kneeling on the ground and crying…

He suddenly slammed the steering wheel in irritation!

Damn it! Damn it! This senior is just too soft-hearted! A too kind for his own good fellow!

In his first instance dungeon, he could not help but want to protect a little girl and a flight attendant.

Unexpectedly, after having gone through so many instance dungeons, he was still too kind for his own good!

Damn it!

Chen Xiaolian abruptly stepped down on the brakes.

The SUV stopped there in the wasteland. A few seconds later, it was started up again. Then, it turned around and moved back.

The girl was on her knees as she cried – she did not know why she was crying either. However, she was suddenly seized by a feeling of fear and dread. She felt as though she was the only one left in the world and there was no one for her to rely on…

It was then that the SUV’s engine sounds reached her. She raised her head and saw the SUV move in front of her.

That man’s head stuck out from the driver’s window.

“Hey, little brat.” Chen Xiaolian looked at the girl who was kneeling outside. “I have some questions for you.”

“Eh?”

“Do you have a guild?”

She shook her head.

“Do you have a big appetite?”

The girl’s eyes bulged out and she desperately shook her head. She said, “No! Not big! I only need a small portion per meal! Mm… two meals a day is enough…” After saying that, she gingerly looked at Chen Xiaolian’s eyes. Hesitating for a moment, she then put on an aggrieved look and said, “Actually… one meal a day is acceptable…”

“Ha ha ha ha ha…” Chen Xiaolian could not restrain himself from laughing out. “What is your name?”

“Xixi, Qimu Xi.”

“Eh? That is a strange name? Qimu? Is there such a surname?”

“I… I don’t know. Brother gave me that name. He read a manga before and there was such a surname in the manga. “My name is Qimu Xi, brother’s name is Qimu Dong.”

“… …. …” Chen Xiaolian sighed and said, “That manga your brother read. Is it by any chance Naruto? 1”

“Right, right! How did you know?” The girl stared at Chen Xiaolian.

“… … …” Chen Xiaolian rolled his eyes. “Enough, I now need a companion. Are you willing to be it? I’m going to put it out there first. You must need to know how to work, cook rice, do the dishes and wash clothes. If I am happy, I will scold you with some happy words. If I am unhappy, I will also scold you until I am happy. Can you take it?”

The girl’s eyes grew brighter and she asked, “Will you be managing the rice supply?”

“Sure! I also have a lot of sardine cans!” Chen Xiaolian laughed.

“All right! All right! I can do it! I can do it!” The girl quickly raised her hand. However, a look of vigilance suddenly appeared once more and she said, “I must say this first! I am not going to warm your bed! I am definitely not going to warm anyone’s bed!”

“… … first rule, when I forbid you to talk, you had better not talk. Otherwise, I am not going to help it but want to smack you, understand?” Chen Xiaolian glared at Qimu Xi. “What are you sitting there for? Hurry up and get in!”

The SUV door opened.

Qimu Xi knelt on the ground and looked at the man seated inside the SUV. Although the man had his face covered with a scarf to the point where only his eyes could be seen, the pair of eyes appeared handsome and the gaze coming off it was clear.

She looked at the SUV and then looked at the barren wasteland around her.

For the first time in her life, Qimu Xi was visited by a strange feeling.

Perhaps… after stepping into this car, my future will undergo a vast change?

…

Qimu Xi. Raw: ‘旗木西’, pinyin: ‘Qí mù xi’.

1.The word ‘Qimu’, raw: ‘旗木’ is the Chinese words used for the Japanese word Hatake. The surname Hatake belongs to a rather popular character in the manga Naruto. Hatake Kakashi.