I Was Once a Legend, Chapter 6: Allen King

It was unknown how long they’d walked until the silhouette of a huge banyan tree suddenly appeared in the mist like an ancient god lurking in the darkness. The branches were dense with leaves, stretching out like a huge canopy to cover the entire view of the sky. The fibrous roots were twisted and knotted, breaking through and hiding under soil as if waiting for just the right opportunities to hunt.

Dong Zheng stepped forward. The texture of the bark on the huge trunk didn’t seem natural. It twisted and converged towards something similar to an astrolabe. The astrolabe was in the trunk, and although there were many golden beads embedded in the groove, nine positions were empty.

Dong Linhai reached out and touched the astrolabe’s cold metal texture. “Do you want to put the beads in?”

“Not right now. Let’s wait for everyone to come and talk first.” Dong Zheng looked around. The fog was heavy, and he could only dimly see the dark shadows of the trees nearby. It didn’t seem like other people would come anytime soon. “Let’s look for a place to hide while we wait for others to come over.”

Dong Linhai said, “Eh? Why?”

“We shouldn’t be too eye-catching.” Dong Zheng briefly explained, “It’s never wrong to be careful in such a place.”

The two found a thick section of tree near the root as a bunker and sat on the floor. After a long walk, they could finally rest. They took out the water and food found in the ranger’s hut from their bags and began to add some strength to their bodies.

Both brothers were very worried. Who would think that they would come to such a strange place after a car accident?

The clown who’d guided them told Dong Zheng that they should have died, but they were lucky enough to be selected to come to the world of the Pure White Realm. Here, as long as the dead person is approved by the queen, he or she will get a chance to return to the real world.

To be recognized, they must constantly enter the crisis-ridden boxes to get tickets in order to be able to go on a pilgrimage to the Queen’s Palace.

After eating silently for a while, Dong Linhai swallowed the last bite of bread and asked, “What about that man? How is he?”

“He’s back.” Dong Zheng lightly traced the lines on his left hand, and thoughtfully said, “He is very strong. Can the most common cards in the novice level summon such a strong prisoner?”

“It’s probably due to good luck. It’s merely that the person has an explosive temper and seems like a bully who’s difficult to deal with…” Dong Linhai said in a low voice, not forgetting the tragic experience of being forced by Cui Zuojing to dig through the ranger’s corpse. He suddenly heard the sounds of branches snapping underfoot nearby and immediately turned his head to look out.

The newcomers were a small team of three: two men and a woman. The group stopped just in front of the banyan tree as the Dong brothers had done earlier.

They briefly exchanged a few sentences. Although the content of the conversation was a little unclear, it was evidently about the fact that there were not enough golden beads. Finally they sat on the ground beside the banyan tree, waiting for others while resting.

After ten minutes or so, another set of footsteps came. These came from a two-person squad, both men of great ages, with wounds on their feet. They’d apparently experienced some unpleasant things.

After the two teams met for a short time, Dong Zheng stood up. He no longer waited and hoisted the conspicuous hunting rifle over his shoulder. He whispered, “Let’s go.”

They pretended to have just come out of the mist. The girl in the first team saw the brothers first and waved her hands. “Eh, you are here too.”

Dong Zheng hummed in agreement, still maintaining a silent image with not much to say. Before encountering the coffin, everyone had acted together and therefore had some impressions of each other.

“Hey, where did your gun come from?” the bloodied man beside him asked. Since Dong Zheng‘s arrival, he had been staring at the hunting rifle.

The hunting rifle was a big weapon and would definitely attract attention, so Dong Zheng didn’t make any deliberate concealments. “I got lucky and found it on the way.”

“How come I haven’t encountered such a good thing?” The other party immediately mumbled in dissatisfaction. “I bumped into the monster instead. Fuck, so unlucky.”

“It’s good to have gotten here safely anyway,” the man with the glasses that was in the trio comforted him. He seemed very experienced. “This instrument should lead to the next map, which requires nine golden beads taken from the coffin. We have two here. How about you?”

The stong-looking man said, “We only have one. There were three originally, but the monster seemed to chase after the people with many beads. This injury was caused at that time, so I threw the other two away immediately after I fled.”

These two men were nearly two meters tall and both looked as strong as a cow. Looking at their bulky muscles, it was clear that they had definitely experienced relevant training. It only showed how miserably they were being chased by Henry. However, they did much better than Dong Zheng and Dong Linhai, both of whom nearly died.

Dong Zheng said, “We have two.”

The bespectacled man nodded. “Let’s wait for other people. This way, it’ll be safe if everyone goes together to the next map.”

While Dong Zheng was talking, Ding Linahi took the opportunity to silently observe these people. The only woman looked like she was in her twenties, with a high ponytail and wearing sports clothes, making her look very capable and experienced. Her companion was a thin, tall spectacled man and a middle-aged man who’d not spoken before. He looked mediocre and was slightly bald, but his temperament felt very familiar to Dong Linhai. It felt the same as that fat financial director in Dad’s company.

Although these three people were traveling together, it seemed that only the young woman and the Mediterranean man were actually together. They stood very close and maintained a delicate distance from the bespectacled man.

It was estimated that the bespectacled man only came along when they met on the road. Dong Linhai pondered silently, looking at the other two big men. He was caught red-handed by the one with the beard and was fiercely stared at.

Dong Linhai immediately turned his face aside and pretended that nothing happened. Both of the men were wounded. The bearded man’s left arm was tightly wrapped in bandages. The gauze was drenched in blood, indicating that the wound was still quite heavy. The monster’s sword, regardless of who was caught, was definitely no good.

Of course, Dong Zheng also took note of the animosity the bearded man had toward Dong Linhai.  But, he didn’t try to control it and instead focused on exchanging information with others. The muscular man who walked with the bearded man said that they were chased by the zombie knight shortly after escaping the coffin and ended up throwing away the golden beads in order to get away. After that, the zombie knight probably turned around and headed toward Dong Zheng.

The bespectacled man and his party were lucky. They didn’t encounter any fatal dangers. After experiencing a puzzle in the middle, they came here smoothly.

Dong Zheng shared the clues and information found in the ranger’s hut. To pass the box safely, they must pay attention to teamwork. Clumsy ignorance was definitely not the best strategy for customs clearance. Of course, he concealed the existence of Cui Zuojing and the drugs he carried, only saying that he was lucky, and that he never encountered a zombie knight along the way.

As the people were exchanging information, another person arrived. This person was a red-haired young man. His deep three-dimensional face could easily be seen as Caucasian, with a smattering of freckles and a slightly panicked look on his face. Seeing the people in front of the banyan tree, he was obviously relieved and hurried over. He soon sat down with his back against the tree trunk.

“Aiyo, I’m tired enough to die….” Red Hair exclaimed while fishing out a bottle of water from his bag. He drank more than half the water in the bottle, barely suppressing the fear in his heart. He raised his head, only to find that everyone was staring down at him.

“?” Red Hair stared innocently with blue eyes. “What’s going on?”

The bespectacled man said, “Do you have any golden beads on your body? Four more are needed to open the entrance to the next map.”

“No, I lost it on the road,” Red Hair simply answered.

Everyone exchanged glances. They didn’t quite believe this. The more likely scenario was that Red Hair deliberately threw away all the golden beads on his body in order not to be chased by the zombie knight.

When they first entered the box, they found a hint in the forest indicating they had to get enough golden beads in order to pass the customs. However, the prop ultimately pales in comparison to the danger of people dying without a burial place. In fact, the box’s level wasn’t very high. Most of the participants were newcomers with the most experienced being the bespectacled man, who’d experience four boxes. In contrast, the Dong brothers had only just entered the Pure White Realm the other day.

The woman with the high ponytail said, “Then we can only wait. Let’s take a rest, I hope others can come over quickly. We don’t know where the zombie is and we only have five golden beads on our side. The goal is too big, and the longer we stay, the more likely we are to be in danger.”

So everyone sat on the ground and entered the shadow of the banyan tree. There were no sounds around them. Even the annoying and horrifying crows had disappeared without a trace, as if, in the realm supported by the branches of the banyan tree, other creatures do not exist.

Everyone couldn’t help but lower their voices to speak. When they first entered the box, there were a total of twelve people. Now there were eight here with four missing gold beads. Whether the people behind can bring enough props was still unknown.

Everyone was sitting with their companions, but Red Hair was alone. He looked around a few times and fell in love with the brother that looked to be about the same age as him. He cheekily ran over to Dong Zheng and asked, “Hey buddy, is it okay to sit here?”

“Yes.” Dong Zheng nodded. He was originally talking to Dong Linhai about Cui Zuojing’s return and about the mark on his left hand, but then stopped talking once Red Hair joined them. Red Hair felt the stagnant atmosphere, grabbed his hair, and said something like, “Then, my name is Allen King. This is the third time I entered the box. Call me Allen or King.”

“Dong Zheng, this is my brother Dong Linhai.” Dong Zheng asked, “Did you come alone?”

“I actually left along with the other two when we all separated at the coffin. Later, I went to relieve myself and let them wait for me. Who knew the turtles would directly just run away?” Allen said indignantly. Fortunately, he had a little experience. He was also brave. If a novice was alone in this foggy forest, and with the crows calling and the zombie chasing, he would definitely be scared to death.

Dong Linhai asked, “Didn’t you know those two people?”

Allen King shook his head. “If I know them, they wouldn’t throw me away. I actually knocked into this box while walking down the street. It was disguised as a hotel. It was too insidious. I really envy you coming with someone you know, and you can still take care of each other.”

Dong Linhai immediately warmed up. “That’s okay. You know us now. Everyone working together will be much smoother than just one person.”

[Pfft.]

Dong Zheng heard a snicker. He immediately tightened his body and looked around vigilantly.

Everyone else was doing their own thing, and the sound was more like something in his head.

He frowned and tentatively touched the back of his left hand.

 

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Aez
Aez
4 years ago

MC is making fun of Dong Linhai.

Dreamer
Dreamer
3 years ago

Allen King… I’m sorry but that “King” just makes me so sus of him. Rather than cannon fodder, he gives me side character or supporting character vibes. Quite possibly a hidden bigshot too or a sneaky bad guy.

Main! Point! Is! Allen King I have my eyes on you!

Klerz
Klerz
3 years ago

CZJ sure love to make fun of DL, huh 😂

yel
yel
3 years ago

allen king is the sus-iest one. i don’t think his story is that simple.

Laozhi
Laozhi
2 years ago

DL dear, you shouldn’t trust people so easily in this sort of environment QAQ

QutiePie
QutiePie
6 months ago

They are too naive