Chapter 45: On the Bridge of Wind and Clouds

*****: "Everyone, what was the last activity you encountered? We're in a gambling game here."

*****: "To the person above, the game my teammates and I encountered was a battle royale; it gave us over two thousand dollars."

Station Master Who Loves Iron-Pumping: "You guys are weak. We got over three thousand in our last game and exchanged for quite a lot of things at a shop along the way."

Little Orange Who Loves Sugar: "You're all that strong? We only had over one thousand dollars in our last game, so we couldn't exchange for many things at the shop."

…………

Zhao Yuxin was chatting idly on the World Channel. After a while, she felt a bit bored and then asked, "Ajiu, let me drive."

Zhu Zhiquan said with some confusion, "Didn't we agree that I would be the one driving for the remaining few days?"

Zhao Yuxin covered her mouth and laughed, "No, that was just me speaking in anger; you didn't take it seriously, did you? Alright, hurry and get down. You must be tired from pedaling the Tricycle for so long, right? Come and take a rest."

After hearing this, Zhu Zhiquan had no choice but to stop and swap places with Zhao Yuxin. The first thing Zhu Zhiquan did upon entering the carriage was to try to learn "Plant Modification and Cultivation," but unfortunately, he did not succeed.

Zhu Zhiquan looked at the "Hell Walker Manual" to the side, but after thinking about it, he decided not to learn it just yet.

Zhao Yuxin was pedaling the Tricycle in the driver's seat. Feeling no movement from behind, she suggested, "Ajiu, why aren't you reading? You might be able to learn a new talent or skill."

Zhu Zhiquan explained, "It's not that I don't want to learn, it's just that the learning for 'Plant Modification and Cultivation' failed, and I don't know what kind of phenomena might occur during the learning process for the other one, so I'm not in a rush."

Zhao Yuxin nodded, "That makes sense. Anyway, our primary goal right now is to reach our destination before dusk."

Zhu Zhiquan closed his eyes and took a nap in the carriage. He didn't know how much time had passed when he first heard Zhao Yuxin's howling, and then he was woken up.

"Ajiu~"

"Ajiu~"

"Wake up, Ajiu~"

…………

Zhu Zhiquan yawned and asked, "What's wrong? Have we reached the finish line?"

"Not yet. Don't talk so much for now; get off the vehicle quickly, there's trouble that requires your cooperation."

Zhu Zhiquan hurried off the vehicle, only to find himself near a very narrow suspension bridge. Under the gentle caress of the wind, the iron chains on the bridge emitted a creaking sound.

There was a cave on the cliff face on the other side of the bridge, and from where Zhu Zhiquan was standing, he couldn't see what was inside.

"There are similar caves on the cliff face below us, and there are countless monsters hiding behind a stone wall inside," Zhao Yuxin explained. "My idea is that you just drive while I take responsibility for clearing out the monsters that chase us."

Zhu Zhiquan asked in confusion, "Why isn't it me clearing out those monsters?"

Zhao Yuxin did not answer, but instead walked over to the adjacent cliff wall. Only then did Zhu Zhiquan notice that there were actually words on this cliff wall, though some of the handwriting was unclear due to weathering.

Bridge of Wind and Clouds: Once players step onto this bridge, thick, dark clouds will obstruct the players' vision. At that time, the monsters hiding in the darkness will take the opportunity to swarm out. Are you players prepared?

Zhu Zhiquan turned his head and asked, "Is there no other way?"

Zhao Yuxin shook her head, "If there were, I wouldn't need to wake you up."

"If you can't hold on, remember to call me," Zhu Zhiquan said, leaving behind this sentence before walking toward the driver's seat of the Tricycle.

Zhao Yuxin said defiantly, "Hmph! Ajiu, stop looking down on people. The me now is not the little weakling I was at the beginning. Just watch how I handle those monsters with ease!"

Regarding Zhao Yuxin's words, Zhu Zhiquan held an indifferent attitude; after all, every time she said this, she would inevitably be slapped in the face. It was better to just get into the driver's seat and pedal the Tricycle.

"Wait a second," Zhao Yuxin suddenly called out to Zhu Zhiquan, pointing at the roof of the vehicle and saying, "Can you help me up to the roof? I can't climb up."

Zhu Zhiquan came to her side and, like holding a child, carried her up to the roof of the vehicle. Finally, he tied one end of the Grappling Hook to her, returned to the driver's seat of the Tricycle, and began to drive onto the bridge.

Just as Zhu Zhiquan drove the Tricycle onto the bridge, thick, dark clouds gathered instantly, and Zhu Zhiquan's vision was greatly reduced. Subsequently, a gale blew, causing the bridge to shake violently. For safety, Zhu Zhiquan slowed down the speed of pedaling the Tricycle.

"Ajiu, how is the situation?" Zhu Zhiquan asked.

"The situation is normal, just keep driving slowly." Zhao Yuxin's voice made Zhu Zhiquan feel much more at ease, so he continued to drive toward the opposite side.

Whoosh~

Whoosh~

Whoosh!!!

"Hum-woo~"

Accompanied by a strange sound and the wind, countless black shadows surged out from the caves. Zhao Yuxin kept throwing Dagger Spears or firing Crossbow Bolts from the roof of the vehicle.

Screams of monsters could be heard from time to time in the darkness, but soon the sounds of firing Crossbow Bolts and throwing stopped, followed immediately by the sound of metal clashing and flesh being sliced open.

And from time to time, monsters would slam into the Tricycle. Zhu Zhiquan loaded a Crossbow Bolt into his Wrist-Mounted Strange Crossbow, opened the window, and fired a shot outside. As for whether it would hit? That wasn't something Zhu Zhiquan needed to worry about.

Zhu Zhiquan pedaled the Tricycle while firing with the crossbow, believing that this would reduce the pressure on Zhao Yuxin so they could successfully cross the bridge.

"Ah~"

Bang!

Suddenly, Zhao Yuxin's cry came, but soon after, the sound of metal clashing came again. Zhu Zhiquan knew very well that Zhao Yuxin had been knocked off the vehicle or even off the bridge, only to throw out the Grappling Hook at the critical moment to hook onto a part of the bridge.

Zhu Zhiquan immediately stopped the vehicle, drew the Dingtang Sword, flipped onto the roof of the vehicle, slashed a few monsters, and shouted, "Azhao, are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Zhao Yuxin's voice came. Afterward, Zhu Zhiquan saw Zhao Yuxin jump onto the roof of the vehicle within his limited field of vision. Confirming that Zhao Yuxin was fine, Zhu Zhiquan immediately returned to the driver's seat and continued pedaling the Tricycle.

Rumble~

Rumble~

Rumble~

The wind grew stronger, forming streaks of lightning that fell. By the light of the lightning, Zhu Zhiquan vaguely saw the flying figures of several monsters.

Listening to the battle above, the adrenaline in Zhu Zhiquan's body flooded his entire being, making him somewhat restless; he wished he could go up and kill all these monsters.

He said in a contemptuous tone, "To think she can't even handle this, Azhao. If it weren't for the visibility problem, I could guarantee that the vehicle wouldn't even shake once while crossing the bridge."

Zhu Zhiquan pedaled the Tricycle slowly, hoping to let Zhao Yuxin better clear the monsters around them. On the vehicle, Zhao Yuxin, afraid of being thrown off again, lay tightly against the roof of the Tricycle, not even daring to sit up.

And the roars of those monsters seemed to be mocking her, constantly lingering in her ears and launching attacks on the Tricycle. Even though Zhu Zhiquan and Zhao Yuxin had tried their best to shoot and kill them, they still couldn't stop their wanton attacks.

"Azhao, how many are left?" Zhu Zhiquan sensed that Zhao Yuxin had already become timid and asked her, preparing to take action himself.

Zhao Yuxin's voice replied with a tremor, "So many, they just can't be killed off... Ajiu, are we going to die here? I'm so scared~ Sob sob..."

Zhu Zhiquan calmly took the Dingtang Sword, opened the vehicle door, jumped onto the roof in one go, pulled Zhao Yuxin to the driver's seat, and said to her, "If any monsters rush over, tell me."

Zhao Yuxin's vision was entirely focused on Zhu Zhiquan and could not look away, and she felt a tightness in her chest, always feeling that something bad was about to happen, so she asked uneasily: "You, what are you doing?"

At this moment, Zhao Yuxin saw that there was no fear in Zhu Zhiquan's eyes, only overflowing fanaticism; it seemed that the thirst for battle had made him forget what fear was.

Just then, a monster swooped down toward Zhu Zhiquan, and as if he had sensed it, Zhu Zhiquan turned around and split it in two with a single sword strike.

Rumble—

A bolt of lightning struck, illuminating Zhu Zhiquan's profile in Zhao Yuxin's eyes, and at the same time, Zhu Zhiquan also saw clearly where monsters were charging toward the Tricycle; although it was only a silhouette, it was enough.

Zhu Zhiquan was seen leaping onto the back of a monster with a swoosh, while leaving behind a sentence: "Azhao, charge out, I will follow right behind!"