Chapter 272

Gradually, the pain grew numb, and the dizziness reached its peak.

After an unknown length of time, Ye Qingfeng felt the constriction vanish, his body light and free, the ground’s touch undeniably real.

He snapped open his eyes, but before he could make out his surroundings, exhaustion surged endlessly, beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down his cheeks, leaving him utterly drained.

“Pant—pant—so tired, I feel like my body’s been hollowed out!”

Ye Qingfeng’s knees buckled, his body tipping forward uncontrollably; he quickly thrust his hands against the ground and knelt, gasping for breath.

“Qingyi?? What are you doing here?!!”

Qingyi turned at the sound, her weary little face twisted with fear; her grip on the sack loosened instinctively as she blurted out.

“Oh~ Qingyi-chan has such a disheveled side too—” Ye Qingfeng forced a grin, “We hit the jackpot!”

“I asked how you got here!”

Qingyi frowned tightly, shouting out without thinking.

“Your friends are all scattered on the ground—aren’t you going to pick them up?”

Ye Qingfeng pointed at the scattered Bambus, noticing Qingyi’s childlike face darken further; he sneered, “I came here to save you, and you’re yelling at me?”

“Do you have any way out?”

Qingyi took a deep breath, immediately steadying herself, turned to gather the Bambus from the ground, gently placing them back into the sack, and asked without looking back.

Qingyi took a deep breath, immediately steadied her composure, turned around, and gently picked up the Bambus from the ground, putting them back into the sack without looking back.

Qingyi turned her head, scanning around—no one in sight; her expression turned puzzled.

Ask? Ask whom? God?

Ye Qingfeng ignored her questioning look, focusing intently on mapping the route; in moments, he plotted the fastest escape path.

Under ideal conditions, with no obstacles, the two could run out of the hollow in under ten minutes.

But reality was far from ideal: both he and Qingyi had expended most of their strength, and they were carrying a heavy sack of bamboo—there would inevitably be skeletons blocking their path.

Even under the best estimate, it would take at least half an hour.

Ye Qingfeng’s face darkened; if they abandoned the Bambus, they might cut five to seven minutes off the escape time.

“Qingyi, do we really have to take all these Bambus?”

He asked tentatively.

Qingyi lowered her eyes, biting her lip lightly.

She knew leaving the Bambus would increase their chance of escape—but to abandon her own kind...

A sudden surge of resentment rose in her heart—aimed squarely at the high-ups of New Eli: how could they treat Bambus lives as worthless?

To most people, cats and dogs were more precious than Bambus; few treated animals as family, but many treated Bambus as tools.

To most people, cats and dogs were far more precious than Bambus; after all, few regarded animals as family, but many saw Bambus as mere tools.

Hmph—wasn’t she a tool too?

Qingyi took another deep breath, as if steeling herself.

“If we don’t take them, we have no evidence to convict the criminals.”

She changed tone.

“If we encounter an emergency or threat, just leave—don’t hesitate. If the hollow expands fully, our chance of escaping will vanish.”

“Oh, okay.” Ye Qingfeng nodded, then extended his hand toward her, “Give me the sack—I’ve got a way to carry them out.”

Qingyi froze, then, almost unconsciously, handed him the sack full of Bambus.

Qingyi froze, and before she knew it, handed over the sack filled with Bambus.

Ye Qingfeng grabbed the sack, pointed randomly in one direction, shouted, and as Qingyi turned to look, he swiftly stuffed the Bambus into his space backpack.

Ye Qingfeng took the sack, pointed randomly in one direction and shouted loudly; as Qingyi turned to look, he hastily stuffed the Bambus into his spatial backpack.

Qingyi glared at Ye Qingfeng with wounded eyes; the next second, she noticed the sack with the Bambus had vanished—her mouth opened slightly, then snapped shut without a word.

【Ding! Ding! Ding! The aether activity within the hollow is rising. In twenty seconds, a spatial rift will open three meters directly behind the host, leading straight to the hollow’s exit.】

【In thirty seconds, the hollow’s expansion rate will accelerate geometrically—its final extent is unpredictable.】

Ye Qingfeng heard the good news, his smile lasting less than a second before it froze at the next message.

Ye Qingfeng heard the good news from the system—his smile hadn’t even lasted a second before the next message made it freeze.

【If the hollow’s expansion isn’t halted soon, it will reach the nearest street within five minutes, fully occupy it within half an hour, then accelerate outward.】

【If the hollow’s expansion is not halted soon, it will reach the nearest street within five minutes, fully occupy it within half an hour, and accelerate outward.】

Qingyi grew impatient, shouting loudly.

“No—wait ten more seconds.”

Ye Qingfeng lifted his gaze, speaking calmly.

Qingyi’s current state was deeply wrong—she paced restlessly, agitated, as if about to explode at any moment.

Qingyi’s current state was deeply wrong—she paced restlessly in place, agitated and tense, as if about to erupt at any moment.

【Ding! Qingyi’s current symptoms indicate early-stage erosion: negative effects will manifest.】

【If she remains in this high-aether zone, she will next suffer memory loss, followed by an unprecedented sense of euphoria, then aether crystals will spread across her body.】

【Same condition as the host’s first entry into the hollow.】

“Why are you still waiting? If we don’t leave the hollow now...”

Qingyi’s body went limp, collapsing forward; Ye Qingfeng lunged forward, catching her and pulling her into his arms.

Poor Ies slipped from her grasp, rolling all the way to the spot where the rift was about to form; Ye Qingfeng watched, his mouth twitching.

Lucky dog! It actually stumbled onto a lifeline...

“What are you doing—let go!”

Qingyi struggled, punching weakly at his chest—her blows were pitiful, like a girl pouting.

“Stop struggling—ha ha ha, you’re not escaping my grasp!”

Ye Qingfeng grinned wickedly, holding Qingyi as he stepped forward; whether by calculation or luck, he stepped into the rift the instant it opened, and kicked Ies ahead of him, sending the little Bambus flying into the rift first.

The world spun violently—the scenery around them shifted utterly; Ye Qingfeng ignored Qingyi’s tiny fists, mentally locking onto the hollow’s exit.

He confirmed the left wall was the exit; he casually kicked up Ies, sending it arcing through the air before it landed gently in Qingyi’s arms.

She stared at the sudden appearance of Ies, her childish face lighting up with delight; she hugged it tightly, settling down quietly, motionless.

Watching this, Ye Qingfeng shuddered involuntarily.

What the hell? Has Qingyi broken?

“Stay still and don’t move.” Ye Qingfeng spoke, testing his theory.

“Lie still and don’t move,” Ye Qingfeng said, to test his hypothesis.

Confirmed—she’s definitely broken...

Ye Qingfeng noticed the number of skeletons around him increasing visibly, more active than ever—clearly not a good sign.

He had no time to entertain Qingyi; he had to escape before the skeletons spotted them—he kicked hard against the nearby wall.

He had no interest in teasing Qingyi; he needed to leave the hollow quickly before Yihai discovered them, and kicked hard against the nearby wall.