Stray

There is nothing inside the registration building worth mentioning. The lobby is not high, the long wooden tables are littered with scratches and suspicious stains, and there are not even seats for guests to sit on. As for the Sizhang mercenaries—the leading man nodded at the staff, and left directly through the back door, not staying for long. The only sound left in the room was the slow footsteps of the applicants, occasionally mixed with a few coughs, no one communicated, and no one asked any questions. Everyone seemed to know what awaited, and the air was thicker and colder than the streets.

People lined up crookedly leading the test to prove that the team was moving fast. Nemo suspects that the staff behind the reception desk did not verify the identities of the participants at all.

It was nothing like he imagined. The test should be more tense, more formal, and the atmosphere should be tense rather than lifeless.

"Ann Savage." Those who got the certificate quickly left the back door, and it was their turn in less than ten minutes. The receptionist was a small, red-haired youth with a weak voice, and it was difficult to tell whether he wanted to talk or was just talking to himself. "Well... the twenty-sixth time, one hundred gold coins."

Nemo decided not to ponder what the number meant.

"Nemo Wright, a gold coin. Someone pays for it." Still the weak voice, the receptionist glanced up at him hastily. "Looks like me, take it."

The receptionist, who seemed to hate being touched, threw a small piece of metal with a sling over the table and waved weakly. The badge that had just been covered by the cloth was exposed - a black circular badge, not so delicate, with a simple owl embossed on the front.

"Thank you for choosing Garland, and I wish you all the best." He lowered his head and muttered dispassionately, and Nemo barely caught what he was saying.

"Is this really a formal test?" Nemo rolled the dice-sized, cheap-looking metal square. It has a few simple spells drawn on it, more like a gadget sold to children at the market.

"Refugees don't have name records," An said dryly. "Most people come up with their own. Refugees' names don't mean anything. Official residents who become criminals are better checked—if you want to ask this."

"But he didn't explain what the quiz was about," Nemo said. "What do we need to do? Fight monsters, or...?" His stomach twitched a little.

"It's the same every time, and it's useless to explain. You'll know then."

Nemo pouted, feeling an itching sensation on the back of his neck. He turned his head sensitively, just in time to see Oliver turn his face away.

Illusion, he thought.

It took a few steps to reach the back door, and the courtyard behind the door was equally unremarkable. Most of the people who had just entered seemed to be gone. The two mercenaries were sticking their palms against the soil, and the magic circle under them exuded a soft silver light. The space above the circle was cut with a square cut, just enough for one person to pass through. The view beyond the opening was clearly visible—a familiar green, accompanied by the melodious chirping of birds.

People taking the quiz are walking slowly inside. Nemo suddenly had an ominous premonition that materialized as he passed the "door"—the gray-white ridges of the Ash Mountains were crystal clear.

They went round and round and returned to the ghostly place of the Frontier Forest, and from the distance from the mountains, it was considered the hinterland of the forest - as far as they could see, the trunks were astonishingly thick, the bark Covered with thick dark red moss. There was a strange hoarseness in the birdsong, and the air was humid but not fresh, mixed with a faint rancid stench.

The only reassuring thing is that the mercenaries followed at the end and entered this open space with them. One of the mercenaries leaned down and opened the box in his hand - countless beetle-sized flying insects rushed into the sky and scattered in all directions. The man who had just nodded with the employees stretched out his hand to draw a simple spell on his chest, and then cleared his throat loudly.

In fact, it is quite unnecessary. Nemo looked around and held the heavy staff in another hand. The people taking the test were eerily quiet, like some new breed of humanoid.

"The border has been circled, here is the center. When approaching the border, the warning pendant will heat up. If you cross the border at will, it will melt." The man's voice was particularly loud, and he shook the sling in his hand. , the gray metal block vibrated a few times with the rope. "Tomorrow morning, people are still alive, and the warning is still there, even if they pass."

"We will monitor your movements, so don't think about doing things you shouldn't do." He added, gesturing to his companions, obviously not intending to mercifully allow time for questions . The mercenaries nodded to each other, scattered in all directions, and were quickly swallowed up by the dense bushes and thick tree trunks.

The humanoid plants that were standing still just now finally came to life, and three or five people gathered together and dispersed in low voices. The mother holding the child was particularly eye-catching. She tied the child to her chest with a cloth belt and quickly got into the woods.

"That's it?" Nemo hung the sling around his neck, keeping the metal against the skin of his chest.

"Yes, that's it." An chuckled and clenched the hunting spear. "Heizhang doesn't support idlers."

As soon as she finished speaking, a male scream came not far away. I don't know if it was startled by the screams or just full of sleep, but the grey parrot finally woke up. It stuck its head out of Nemo's backpack and shook it vigorously.

"Ouch." It wondered, "There are quite a few demons here—what's the matter with you, are you going to kill yourself while I'm not paying attention? Don't do that."

"Follow me and find a safe base first." Ann said, "You two don't touch anything."

Nimo silently retracted the hand that was poking at the moss, and the feeling of being scrutinized came back. He frowned, directly meeting Oliver's gaze this time. He looked at the other party suspiciously, a little unsure whether to ask questions - after all, his expression looked like constipation. If the other party was really sick and embarrassed to say it, it would be rude to ask directly in front of the lady.

Oliver quickly looked away again.

Nemo shrugged inexplicably and followed Ann on. It seems that there are quite a few experienced participants, and there are four or five people who are heading in the same direction, only a dozen steps apart. He finally had some real sense of the test now, which might be a good sign that the wild, elusive days of late were on the right track. After passing this test, everything will return to his common sense-

Nemo's eyes widened.

The two people walking in front suddenly fell to their knees, and then fell heavily into the grass. Blood and brains splattered everywhere, and the strong smell of blood quickly dissipated. The two men who seemed to be older quickly lay down and did not move, and the young man who was with him didn't seem to respond - he looked around blankly, trying to pull his companion who was lying next to him, but couldn't get any response. The young boy collapsed, and he stumbled towards Ann behind him, screaming for help incoherently.

Nimo stared at Ann's back, the female warrior didn't say a word, didn't move, let the boy run towards him. However, when he was four or five steps away from Ann, his body shook violently, and then fell limply - the boy's head above the chin disappeared without a trace, the whole tongue was exposed to the air, and the wounds gurgled. with blood blister.

With a slight click, a living person died in front of them.

This is completely different from old Ramon's time. Nemo suddenly felt his stomach turned upside down. If it wasn't for the empty stomach, he would turn his head and spit Oliver all over. Oliver's face was pale and he didn't look very well.

"Come on," Ann said briefly. At the same time, the two men not far away also stood up silently. "It's full and won't attack again."

Nemo glared at Ann in disbelief. Her tone seemed to describe the just-fed dog in her yard, as if it wasn't a dead person, but a lack of feed. For the first time in days he had been so clearly aware of the difference between them that he had indeed been living in another world—another world where death was so heavy.

Less than an hour ago, he selfishly thought she was a gentle but inarticulate person, and her lovely eyes couldn't lie - she really didn't care.

"We just..." Oliver swallowed, "Can save him... let's go."

"No need." An replied calmly, looking not in a good mood. "It's thankless to fight that thing. It didn't attack us. It's the most reasonable thing to do when it's full and walk away."

"But that's..." Oliver seemed to be hit harder.

Ann turned around and took a few steps, she was very tall herself, standing in front of Oliver, who was 1.8 meters tall, did not lose much momentum.

"Can you save him?" she asked coldly.

"I don't know."

"Sympathy is the most useless thing here. That kid just doesn't want your sympathy, he wants you to risk your life to save him. You say you don't know, then you are What are you expecting, I'm going to save him?"

"Listen, little boy." She grabbed Oliver by the collar, "you seem to be doing something wrong—first, compassion without the premise of strength will make you die faster; second , I think my life is far more valuable than a stranger's, and I don't owe you anything - I'm not obligated to respond to any of your expectations. It's common sense."

"You listen too." Ann gave Nemo a sideways glance, who shrank his neck subconsciously. "It's understandable for young people to have heroic fantasies, but you'd better remember that - if you're in trouble, it's not my style to give up your life to wipe your ass."

After saying that, she swung the hunting spear at will, and a strange tentacle broke off beside Oliver, spewing thick purple mucus.

Nimo didn't dare to look at the boy's body - he was too small to even tell if he was an adult. The joy of returning to the world of common sense just now vanished.

Ann didn't ask him, but he felt that terrible feeling of powerlessness. Can he save the child? Will he die like this—quietly, without a grave or tombstone, and the first impression of those in the know is relief? He began to vomit in another sense.

Ann was right, he did get something wrong - what he thought was a rightful life and a rightful death, none of it existed here.

"Oliver." He approached the dejected brown-haired youth, "Are we friends?"

Oliver raised his head and looked at him with a complicated expression for a moment. "…Probably."

"She has a point, but I still can't accept it." Nemo's voice trembled a little boneless, but his tone was firm. "If I accidentally rush out and get into trouble, don't save me."

Oliver gave him a deep look, silent for a moment, and finally sighed.

"Then I have the same request." He responded hoarsely, kicking the turf on the ground uncomfortably.

(m..=)