Chapter 81: Star Chasing Journey (Two)
In the desperate darkness, Liu Sheng felt her heart rate accelerating rapidly, each beat seemingly synchronizing with the downward rhythm of the flying vehicle.
The cold wind in the air was like a knife, howling in her ears, taking away all sound, leaving only fear to spread in her heart.
If she had to describe it, it was probably like riding a roller coaster with her eyes closed.
At this critical moment, Liu Sheng felt a warm and firm hand tightly grasp hers.
It was Wen Weilan's hand.
Wen Weilan softly said, "Quickly open the protective shield."
Liu Sheng quickly calmed down and conjured two protective shields for Wen Weilan and herself.
The other people inside the flying vehicle were also awakened by the commotion.
Fortunately, since not many people would take the vehicle so early in the morning, and to a not-so-lively northern town at that, there were only eight Hunters of the Strange on board.
For Hunters of the Strange, except for Liu Sheng and the three Disciples from the academy who were less experienced, dealing with various emergencies was commonplace, so they quickly adjusted their states and protected themselves with their respective methods.
Chen Shanyuan, as the temporary leader, immediately spoke up to remind them, "Stay calm and use your respective Spiritual Artifacts for protection!"
He shouted a few times, his voice exceptionally clear in the darkness.
Lu Junan also screamed for a while, and only managed to react and open his protective shield after hearing Chen Shanyuan's words.
Luo Lu, holding Song Ru, also obediently conjured a protective talisman.
As the flying vehicle gradually lost control and bounced, each Hunter of the Strange did their best to stabilize their bodies, preventing themselves from being thrown out or crashing.
Liu Sheng and Wen Weilan clung tightly to each other, their hands clasped firmly.
Finally, with a "rumble," the flying vehicle violently crashed headfirst into the ground.
Fortunately, the flying vehicle itself had a protective formation, and coupled with the Hunters of the Strange's thorough preparations, although the jolting was significant, none of them suffered serious injuries, only feeling a bit dizzy and nauseous.
After the impact, there was dead silence all around, and darkness still enveloped them, but Liu Sheng and the others' breathing gradually calmed down.
However, just then, they vaguely sensed some unusual Qi around them.
"There's something..." Lu Junan's voice trembled slightly, then Yu Jinling next to him quickly and softly "shushed" him.
Not making sounds casually is a basic principle when facing unknown strangeness.
Nor should one move casually, especially when nothing can be seen at the moment.
Everyone could only silently grip the weapons and Spiritual Artifacts in their hands, preparing to face whatever might happen next.
In the silence, something was approaching the flying vehicle, taking strange steps, sounding like many people's feet dragging on the grass, sticky and slippery, accompanied by the rustling of disturbed grass.
Everyone held their breath, their palms sweating with tension.
Even Chen Shanyuan was encountering a situation where his sight was immediately taken away at the beginning for the first time, and he was inevitably nervous.
The sound got closer and closer, clearer and clearer, and then it stopped.
Why did it stop?
Did it not discover them?
Or... had it already entered?
Suddenly, a clear, pleasant, and joyful female voice sounded from the front of the carriage, breaking the silence.
"Oh my, oh my! Hello everyone! I didn't expect so many people to be on board already!"
The sudden appearance of this voice made everyone's hearts skip a beat.
Everyone nervously gripped the weapons in their hands, but in the darkness, they couldn't determine the source of the voice.
The owner of the voice seemed to sense their confusion and panic, and chuckled, "Oh dear, everyone is so nervous, did I forget to turn on the lights?"
With a light, crisp snap of fingers, the previously dark field of vision instantly brightened, and the outlines of surrounding objects gradually appeared in the dark vision, until they became clear.
They found themselves still sitting inside the carriage, which was still brightly lit.
However, the originally very spacious carriage was now filled with various people; some dressed simply like villagers, some like hunters, and some even wearing similar tight-fitting attire to the Hunters of the Strange.
At this moment, these "passengers" were all, without exception, facing the eight of them, their faces pale and expressionless, staring fixedly.
In front, a woman stood before them, wearing a peach-colored dress, her powdered white face adorned with an overly exaggerated smile that looked both eerie and malicious.
Although the carriage was still tilted forward due to the front of the vehicle being embedded in the ground, she stood steadily at the front.
She clapped her hands happily, as if welcoming long-lost friends, then proudly announced, "Welcome everyone to our Star Chasing Journey! I am your guide, Li Mingzhu, and it's a pleasure to meet you all here!"
Upon hearing this, the passengers who had been watching them turned back to face Li Mingzhu, clapping a few times rather stiffly, though no sound was produced, then sat quietly. Not a single person spoke, only Li Mingzhu's voice echoed in the carriage.
Liu Sheng held Wen Weilan's hand tightly, a sense of unease, as if not her own, growing within her.
She had been watching with Little Tentacle just now, but still hadn't seen how these things appeared inside the carriage; clearly, the carriage door was still stuck in the ground and hadn't opened.
It seemed as if the carriage lights just came on, and then they appeared out of thin air.
At this point, everyone also understood that the flying vehicle had likely fallen directly into an expanded Weird Domain as soon as it flew near the Changxing Mountains.
Luo Lu whispered to Chen Shanyuan and the other teammates, "We need to find a way out, something's not right here."
Li Mingzhu seemed to notice Luo Lu's whisper, her laughter becoming even more noticeably eerie, "Oh dear, it seems we have some shy little ones! Don't be afraid, since you're on my vehicle, please enjoy this journey!"
Luo Lu gritted his teeth and thought for a moment.
For some reason, the anxiety in his heart grew stronger, almost making him unable to sit still.
No, he couldn't stay here any longer; he had to get out.
Since the others wanted to plan before acting, and no one dared to go first, ha, then he would be that person!
Then, with a fierce expression, he drew the long sword from his hand, leaped up from his seat, and lunged forward, stabbing at Li Mingzhu.
A flash of sword light, blood splattered, and Li Mingzhu's chest was deeply pierced by the long sword. She fell to the ground, but her smile became even more eerie.
Chen Shanyuan was too late to stop him and gritted his teeth, cursing under his breath.
He hadn't expected Luo Lu, who seemed clever and had a promising future, to be so reckless right from the start.
Kuang Bowen, next to him, also had a sarcastic look and coldly said to Luo Lu's Junior Sister, "Control your man, don't do useless things."
Song Ru's face paled, and she looked at her Senior Brother in front with concern, not daring to speak.
Sure enough, as Luo Lu was panting and pulling out his long sword, he heard a familiar female voice sound eerily in his ear, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
Luo Lu turned his head to look and saw another Li Mingzhu standing behind him, completely unharmed, with the same overly exaggerated smile on her face. The wound on her chest seemed to have never existed.
His heart pounded. He looked down at the ground, and there was also a Li Mingzhu lying in a pool of blood, eyes wide and smiling strangely, completely motionless.
The surrounding passengers still sat expressionlessly, as if everything that had just happened had no effect on them.
Then he felt a chill on his right shoulder, and the sword clattered to the ground.
Along with the sword, his right arm also fell to the ground.