The Midnight Owl

The air in the room was suddenly quiet.

Qian Ai, Kuang Jinxin, and even Wu Sheng were counted. No one expected Xu Wang to have such a confession with Chi Yingxue.

Of course you can confess, after all, after the twists and turns of the past [-] days, we were able to reunite again, and everyone didn't say anything, but they already regarded Chi Yingxue as a member of the team in their hearts.

But since such an important thing is to be said, at least there must be a foreshadowing. When it comes up, "I talked to Owl", it's no wonder that Chi Yingxue is not stupid!

The three partners silently looked at the new teammate, and sure enough, the latter looked confused.

Xu Wang also realized his recklessness belatedly, and quickly went back to make amends: "This matter, it's actually a long story..."

"Owl talks every day." Chi Yingxue said suddenly.

Xu Wang was interrupted, startled: "What?"

Chi Yingxue sighed, and the inexplicable inexplicable voice became more obvious: "The owl talks every day."

Xu Wang and the three listening partners finally understood that the co-authoring new teammates were not confused because they were too shocked, but because they completely misunderstood it, so that they didn't understand the need to discuss this matter...

"It's not the notification sound in the ear, it's a conversation between you and me, do you understand the conversation." Xu Wang pointed to himself, and then pointed to Chi Yingxue, almost dying, "Just like the two of us now!"

Chi Yingxue raised her eyebrows, and finally a light of interest flashed in her eyes: "Oh? Can you talk to Owl?"

"No, it's just that I had a conversation once by mistake, just once." Xu Wang sighed regretfully, and wished that he could communicate with Owl anytime.

"Oh." Chi Yingxue's face was slightly regretted, but the interest was still there, "Is it a human or a bird?"

"...Ah?" Captain Xu was unprepared for this concern. It took a long time to digest it, and said weakly, "I didn't see it, it just made a sound and didn't show itself..."

Chi Yingxue frowned dissatisfied: "Then did you ask it how to do it?"

"..." was too sharp, Captain Xu couldn't answer.

The last trace of interest in Chi Yingxue's eyes disappeared, leaving only disappointment.

Swallowing with difficulty, Xu Wang sincerely reflected: "I was young at that time, young and naive, if God gave me another chance to start over... no, these are not the point!" Xu Wang hurriedly got back on track, fixedly looked at Chi Yingxue, and emphasized his tone, "I talked to Xiao, don't you think it's incredible?"

Chi Yingxue blinked her eyes in a daze, and nodded calmly: "I didn't see it, I didn't catch it, I didn't ask about the strategy, it's really incredible."

Xu Wang's heart throbbed, but he was speechless.

Wu Sheng pulled back the disappointing captain, went into battle in person, and objectively and concisely told the story of Xu Wang's encounter with the owl ten years ago, focusing on the timing and form of the owl's appearance and the words it said.During the narration, Chi Yingxue didn't ask Chi Yingxue's opinion. Anyway, this new teammate didn't seem so naive and curious.

"So—" After retelling, Wu Sheng concluded his statement, "We not only need to break through the barrier, but we also need to figure out what's going on."

Chi Yingxue tilted her head to look at him: "According to you, Owl said that you can leave after passing 23 levels?"

Wu Sheng nodded: "Yes."

"Then it's all right to break through," Chi Yingxue asked in bewilderment, "Why do you have to study these things so hard?"

"Let's not talk about whether we can pass all 23 levels, even if we can," Wu Sheng's eyes sank, "You have been tossed for so long for no reason, are you willing?"

Looking at Wu Sheng's firm gaze, Chi Yingxue suddenly had a look of anticipation at the corner of his mouth, and even sat upright slightly with his body casually leaning on the sofa: "You want to destroy the owl?"

Xu Wang, Qian Ai, Kuang Jinxin: "..."

The more Yan Wang fights, the happier he is, and the more chaotic Chi Yingxue is, the more interesting he is. In the matter of "I just don't want to live a good life", the two of them are in perfect harmony!

Wu Sheng does not have the keen emotional perception of his teammates. He only knows that when Chi Yingxue asks a question, he will give a true and objective answer: "I haven't thought about the application of the research results yet. At this stage, I mainly focus on the operation logic. and the two problems of the form of existence."

Kuang Jinxin: "Brother Sheng also made a small card to send to the NPC!"

Qian Ai: "Yes, it inspires them to think about life and the universe."

Xu Wang: "And keep updating and upgrading, now it's the third version of the small card."

Chi Yingxue: "..."

After wandering for a long time, when the days almost turned into an endless cycle of repeatedly advancing and retreating in the first few levels, Chi Yingxue finally ushered in a turning point in his career of breaking through levels—he joined a scientific research team.

……

After the rendezvous, the team adjusted their rhythm and followed the pattern of "three days of rest + one night to break through the level". Focus and be more efficient.

On the afternoon of the eighth day, the team arrived at Suzhou, where 8/23 was located.

Xu Wang didn't know whether it was Chi Zhuolin who installed satellite positioning at Chi Yingxue's place, or whether Chi Yingxue was in touch with his brother at any time. Anyway, Chi Zhuolin updated their whereabouts in a timely manner. The car came to pick me up.

Revisiting the old place, friends will inevitably think of the shadow of the failure to submit the paper last time. As a result, as soon as they enter the hotel suite, they put down their worries and enjoy the peace.

It wasn't until dinner was over and the night was getting dark that Xu Wang's heart slowly settled down.

Looking around the suite, Qian Ai, who was sleepy after eating, dozed off on the sofa; Wu Sheng, who was planning something, sat at the desk, and had already filled several draft papers; Kuang Jinxin was sitting next to the desk, concentrating She watched Wu Sheng write and draw, without making a sound or asking, just comprehending by herself, as if she was serious in class; Chi Yingxue moved the single sofa to the TV, gnawed on an apple and watched TV shopping, with relish.

According to the rhythm, today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow are all "rest periods", and the day after tomorrow is the real "breakthrough day", so there is no sense of tension before breaking through the level.

But Xu Wang was still a little uneasy.

There is no other reason, but the last time 8/23 died so badly, and now when Xu Wang thinks about it, he still feels pain in his bones.

In this way until 11:30, the five people took a taxi to the coordinate point. Not long after getting off the bus, they arrived at zero.The five people stepped into the purple vortex on the ground, and after a lapse of one month, they came to the starting point of 8/23 again.

A semi-outdoor cafe with a great view.

The open-air part is surrounded by a small fresh green fence, inside there are a few round tables, a few small chairs, and a few big sunshade umbrellas. The breeze blows and the coffee is fragrant.

In reality it was cold and dark midnight.

On August 8, it was a morning full of spring.

But all five of them knew that under the bright sunshine, a "bloody massacre" would soon take place.

There are already guest NPCs under a few parasols, and there is only one empty table by the fence. Five people sit down, and the waiter comes over and asks what they want to drink.

After the five people finished ordering casually, the waiter left and never came back. Naturally, no coffee was served.

Like the airport on 2/23, it is completely a "virtual experience".

"The banquet hall of the ancient castle is better. The food and drink are real and not fake." Qian Ai sighed, took out a big white pear from his pocket, and took a sip, full of moisture.

Xu Wang remembered the big plate of fruit in the suite, and asked with the mentality of giving it a try: "Just bring one in?"

"Am I the kind of person who eats alone!" Qian Ai unloaded the small backpack, Kaka took out four more, all smooth and fruity, and distributed them to teammates one by one, "Eat whatever you want, and there will be more after eating."

Xu Wang could see that Student Qian really didn't intend to go through the barriers at all today, and the things in the bag were all configured for hiking and outings.

The five partners each had a pear, sitting around a table, eating comfortably.

After 2 minutes, the purple vortex that entered the owl was closed, and there was no new team coming into the coffee shop - it is very simple to distinguish between NPCs and their peers, just check whether there is coffee on the table.

"We are the only ones at this level today?" Kuang Jinxin looked around and saw that there was coffee on every table. He was surprised. Even if he didn't plan to break through the level, as long as he was at this coordinate point, he should come in on 8/23.

"A score of 8/23 is enough to be on the overall score list," Qian Ai muttered while chewing on a white pear.

"There may also be other teams," Wu Sheng said, "It's just that they are not stuck in the coordinates like us."

"That's right." Kuang Jinxin nodded.

In order to avoid peers, many teams will deliberately stagger some, and choose other places around the coordinate point to enter the "owl".

Chi Yingxue was not interested in her peers, she only looked at the street corner outside the fence, looked at the busy traffic, and said unrelentingly, "You really don't want to break through today?"

Xu Wang gave him a look of "Be safe and don't be impatient", and said earnestly: "Let's wait and see first."

Chi Yingxue shrugged, there was no coffee, no pastries, so she could only make do with a bite of pear.

The fence is a safe area, similar to the banquet hall of an ancient castle, once you leave, it means the start of the barrier.The last time they stepped out, they received a notification about the content of the level. Afterwards, they merged into a large army, and before they even walked out of this street, they all died. It was a black 3 minutes.

There was a noise from the corner of the street, as if a large group of people were approaching from far to near.

Wu Sheng calmed down and said in a deep voice, "Here we come."

Xu Wang's heart tightened, and he quickly looked towards the corner of the street.

Qian Ai and Kuang Jinxin also became serious, and turned their heads along with Xu Wang.

Chi Yingxue didn't wait as hard as they did, and still maintained the posture of gnawing pears. He only moved his eyes to the corner of the street, but as the team leader's flag appeared in the distance, he still forgot to bite down on the pear.

On the far corner of the street, a team of about thirty people turned around. The team leader held a small flag and led the team. Behind him were young men and women in their twenties and thirties. lively.

They moved forward very fast, and after a while, they arrived in front of the coffee shop.The tour guide walked straight towards the five of them, and warmly invited them through the fence: "One-day tour around the city, including food and entertainment, come?"

Xu Wang shook his head decisively: "No."

The team leader asked, "Really not coming?"

This time, Xu Wang, Qian Ai, and Kuang Jinxin shook their heads silently together.

Wu Sheng helped to refuse the second time: "No, thank you."

The team leader looked very sorry, but he didn't bother anymore. He turned around and returned to the front of the team, leading the team to move on.

A group of people walked through the coffee shop in a mighty manner and came to a crossroad.

red light.

Thirty people stood together at the intersection and waited peacefully.

In the distance, a muck truck was approaching normally, with the same speed and route.

But just when the muck truck was driving to the intersection, there was a loud bang, and one of the front tires of the muck truck blew out!

The driver slammed on the brakes in a panic, but the vehicle that had lost one front wheel could no longer keep going in a straight line. When the brake was applied, the muck truck drifted directly towards the thirty or so people waiting for the red light!

Everything happened extremely fast. The people who were chatting and laughing just a second ago were instantly stunned. The two people who were closest to the side of the road were immediately swept under the dirt truck!

At this time, the rest of the people came to their senses and ran away screaming!

However, after drifting, the muck truck lost its balance and turned over directly. A whole truck of muck landed on the three people who had no time to run away, and buried them alive in an instant!

In the chaos, only a sharp sound of brakes was heard. It was the car that came after that found something was wrong and wanted to stop, but it was still a step too late. Those who go out of the road will be knocked into the air.

He escaped a puncture, a dump of muck, and the car behind.

In just ten seconds, six people died.

By the time the dust had completely settled, there were only about [-] people left in the team.However, from the team leader to the survivors, they all seemed to have lost their memory, put on their smiling faces again, crossed the road happily, and continued on along the established route.

Xu Wang shivered, the cold thrill that only this level had had returned.

Death is terrible.

But what is even more frightening is that you know that you will die if you are not careful, but you don't know where the danger lies.

In other words, there are countless ways to die anytime, anywhere.

[The devil who caused the accident is among these people, find out before sunset, if you are still alive. 】

This was the first sentence <cheat sheet> gave after they stepped out of the fence of the coffee shop last time.