Chapter 172: Shiqing Has Changed

After Luo Xixi and Sheng Tinglan followed Shiqing for a while, Shiqing stopped and said, "We're here, this is it."

"Huh?"

Luo Xixi looked at the endless Gobi desert ahead and said with some surprise, "This is the human tribe? Where are the people?"

Shiqing rolled her eyes at Luo Xixi and said, "You really are ignorant."

Then she walked forward alone, and as she crossed a certain line, her entire person vanished into thin air! This sudden disappearance of a living person made Luo Xixi's eyes nearly pop out, "Oh my god! Where did Shiqing go?"

Sheng Tinglan analyzed, "Perhaps this is what they call a Barrier? Xixi, didn't we often see this kind of mimetic camouflage in sci-fi movies? From the outside, there's nothing, but once you step inside, you discover a whole new world."

"Oh, so it's a barrier, then."

Luo Xixi reacted immediately, then sighed, "But I always thought that was just sci-fi movies, something imagined, but I never expected it to actually exist in reality!"

Sheng Tinglan smiled faintly and said, "Xixi, theoretically, this isn't reality either; it's the so-called Book World. The entire world was conceived by the system and then materialized, but at the end of the day, it's nothing more than a fabrication."

"Whatever!"

Luo Xixi said indifferently. Anyway, since things like systems already existed, Luo Xixi felt she could handle anything else, as she had already mentally prepared herself.

"What are you two still standing there for? Hurry up and come over."

Shiqing urged Luo Xixi and Sheng Tinglan.

"Coming!"

Luo Xixi and Sheng Tinglan followed her over. Sure enough, after crossing the barrier, a scene completely different from the outside was revealed. It was a massive iron city, with the outer perimeter cast from refined steel. In front of the city gates, there were four squads patrolling and two squads on guard, making the security look extremely tight.

"So many people guarding the gate."

Luo Xixi was surprised.

Shiqing said as a matter of course, "Of course. This world is full of external threats right now, and the Leader is even injured. If the monsters take this opportunity to attack and the city falls, then the thousands of people inside will all die. Everyone is walking on thin ice, so we have to be cautious."

She led Luo Xixi and Sheng Tinglan to the city gate. Shiqing seemed to be quite popular in this world; upon seeing her, the guard at the gate teased, "Shiqing, why are you back from the outside? Don't tell me you were out messing around with someone again? Want to go out and have some fun with me one of these days?"

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting!"

Shiqing looked embarrassed. She first glanced at the expressions of Luo Xixi and Sheng Tinglan, then said sternly to the guard, "These are my two friends. We got separated before, and I happened to run into them while out this time, so I brought them back."

"Friends?"

The guard's gaze swept over Luo Xixi and Sheng Tinglan, and he said skeptically, "Really? You can reunite after being separated for a year? Are you sure there's no problem? Shiqing, I heard from the Expedition Squad that monsters mutate very quickly, and it seems there are already monsters that can disguise themselves as humans. Are you sure your two friends weren't eaten by monsters, and now they're wearing their skins to find you?"

"That, I wouldn't know!"

Shiqing said, "If you don't believe it, just kill them right now!"

!!!!!

Hearing Shiqing's words, Luo Xixi's eyes widened. She said angrily, "Damn it! Shiqing, is this your plan? Trying to use other people to get us killed?"

Shiqing stood behind the guards and said with a forced smile, "How can you blame me for this? It's them who don't trust you two outsiders. What can I do? Do you want me to stand in front of you and say that if they want to kill you, they have to step over my dead body?"

Luo Xixi: "!!"

Oh my! That makes so much sense!

I didn't expect that after staying in this world for a year, Shiqing would become so eloquent. Environment really does change people. Back when she had the Heartthrob System, Shiqing was like a giant baby, asking the system about everything. Now that the system is gone, she has suddenly grown up.

Even though they were in imminent danger, Luo Xixi suddenly felt a sense of relief that a child had grown up.

"It looks like we have no choice but to fight."

Sheng Tinglan also prepared for an attack.

Although he couldn't take Xixi away from this world for now, the power Yehruohua gave him was still there, and dealing with these NPCs was more than enough for Sheng Tinglan.

However.

The other side offered a truce first. The guard laughed and said, "Hahaha, don't be so tense. We were just talking. Although the Expedition Squad did find signs of monsters disguising themselves as humans, the disguises were very crude—just wearing a human skin to blend in. But monsters are monsters; they could never have such agile thinking. Seeing how articulate you are, you can't be monster disguises. Come in. We are very short on labor right now. Welcome to the Last Bastion of this world."

As he spoke.

The city gate opened.

Luo Xixi looked inside the gate and found towering buildings and bustling crowds. Unlike the lifeless Gobi she had just seen, the city was full of vitality, finally showing a hint of life.

After Shiqing led Luo Xixi and Sheng Tinglan into the city, she said, "I'll take you to register first. You can only get an identity after registering, and then you can collect daily necessities. After that, you'll need to work to exchange for food. I can barely take care of myself, so I don't have any food to treat you."

"That's fine!"

Luo Xixi agreed immediately, "Shiqing, you've helped us a lot. Once we get our food, we'll treat you!"

Luo Xixi realized that Shiqing didn't seem to have any murderous intent toward them.

The reason she said that in front of the guards earlier was actually to provoke her and start an argument; only then could the guards be sure they weren't monster disguises. So, from this perspective, Shiqing was actually helping them.

After completing the identity registration and collecting their daily necessities, Shiqing took them to their living quarters and said, "The one thing we have plenty of here is rooms. You can pick whichever you like. I'll give you ten minutes to rest, and then I'll take you to the task assignment office. You can choose jobs you are capable of doing. Once you finish them, you can earn points, and then use those points to exchange for food."

Shiqing introduced the process to Luo Xixi just like an NPC.

"Alright, I understand."

Luo Xixi began to pick a room she liked. At this moment, Sheng Tinglan suddenly walked up behind Luo Xixi, "Xixi..."

"Oh my god!"

Luo Xixi was startled by Sheng Tinglan, who had suddenly popped up. She said unhappily, "What are you doing? Don't you dare say you want to be in the same room as me. There are plenty of rooms here, stay away from me!"

Sheng Tinglan whispered, "We should leave this place as soon as possible."