New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live-Chapter 1081: The Perils Of The Climb

Sakura hurriedly recounted the uneventful night, before excusing herself, as she almost ran toward the door, stepping on Alexander’s foot on the way there ’accidentally.’

Alex cursed under his breath, raising his foot and glaring at the girl.

She didn’t bother glaring back at him, exiting the room quickly under Nagato’s worried gaze.

This only made her situation worse, and she cursed mentally.

’That demon will pay someday,’ she promised herself, promptly heading back to her room.

She needed to do something about her body’s reaction and couldn’t do that in an exposed area, after all.

In the meantime, Kujaku listened to the others report what they saw during their watch and nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. A calm and eventless night isn’t typical lately, but greatly appreciated. In that case, we should get ready to depart soon. We can get breakfast first, and then we’ll head out.

"There is still a ways to go to reach Huayin village and then the foot of the mountain. We’ll need to eat in a hurry if we don’t want to have you climb the mountain in peak sunlight. I’ve read up on it, and the path is on the eastern side, making it the hottest climb in northern China."

Alex looked at her, confused, as the temperatures shouldn’t be too hot at this time of the year.

"We are reaching the end of September. How is climbing a mountain at any risk of a heatstroke?" he commented.

Kujaku became annoyed at his interruption.

"If you had bothered doing your homework before trying to invade an organization like the Zhong Kui, I wouldn’t have to educate you. But, sure. Let’s waste our time explaining this to you," he groaned.

Her rudeness offended Alex, but before he could answer, Kary put her hand on his lap, shaking her head.

Instead, she glared at Kujaku.

"You are being overly aggressive. It’s not like we could have known much about them, since we barely knew they existed until they attacked us in Montreal. And even after that, the only one of us who knew more about them, has kept mum on the subject," she said, giving a side eye to David.

David knew this was partly his fault, and he coughed lightly, feeling the gazes of the others brush over him.

"To my defence, I didn’t think we would have to deal with them so soon after the last attack. The threats I gave should have kept them at bay. I can’t be blamed if Gu Fang walked into their claws, right?" he defended himself. fгeewebnovёl.com

Kujaku raised her hand to stop any further arguments.

"Nevertheless, as the leader of your group, Alexander, you should have done your due diligence and dug into them. I know the kind of networks you can access, including mine, and you should have asked. That part is on you. Now, let us continue," she said dryly.

Alex sighed, waving at her to proceed.

"As I was saying, since you haven’t dug into it, I will explain why the climb is arduous," she said, pulling out a brand-new tablet.

After tapping on it a few times, she revealed images of the mountain called Huashan.

The first few images looked all but dangerous, with lovely paths and pleasant sunlight shining on them.

"This is the first half of the climb, arguably the safest, if you disregard the fact that the Zhong Kui will be expecting you, and they might pull the rug from under your feet. This part will be more about how your awareness keeps you safe.

"I doubt you are much at risk there, with how you have proven to be more than capable of staying alert to your surroundings. Where it gets dangerous is the second half of the climb, when the paths stop," she said, tapping a few times and changing images.

The images on her tablet showed some narrower paths made of dirt and stone, obviously only ever borrowed by experimented hikers. And on them, char marks.

"These char marks on the path are what make the climb dangerous. From the rumours around the climb to the peak, the sun sometimes reflects weirdly on the clouds in the sky on that climb, raising the area’s temperature by a few degrees.

"It might not sound like a lot at first, but continued exposure to the high temps, the continuous exertion of staying on high alert, and the path’s narrowness will stack on your bodies. By the time you notice you are exhausted, you might already be falling off the side of the mountain," she said, looking at them with narrowed eyes.

"You paid me to smuggle you out of the country, so all of you better make it back down the mountain. I don’t like owing debts to people," she added.

"But the danger only rises from the three-quarters of the mountain," she then sighed.

Alex was expecting a new set of images, but she instead stowed the tablet away.

"What, no diorama?" he joked.

David lightly slapped the back of his head.

"There are none. Even the people who claim to have managed to climb to the peak never bring back photos. It’s like they forget to take some. They claim the view to be so breathtaking that they forget. But the truth is far from," he said, his eyes narrowing.

Kujaku took the relay from him, finishing his thought.

"Exactly. From what we know of the Zhong Kui, which, even as a black organization, is objectively little, we know this is their doing. The way they make people forget is, well, was, until now, unknown. But with our knowledge of the recent phenomenon happening on Earth, we think it might be using some kind of spell."

David shook his head a bit.

"Not a spell. The leader of the Zhong Kui can’t use magic. He uses Qi, which objectively does the same thing, but in a different way. Instead of a spell, they use what they call arrays. It’s similar to runic carvings in New Eden, but simultaneously, completely different," he corrected her.

Alex frowned.

"So, if I understand this correctly, you mean to tell us our mind will be under constant attack by this formation once we reach that point?" he asked, trying to grasp the degree of difficulty.

David nodded firmly.

"Unless we dismantle their ’Array,’ that is. But I don’t think we can unless we brute force it. And that would be too energy-consuming and defeat the purpose of trying to reach them without too much commotion," he confirmed.

"What about it being too energy-consuming? We are significantly stronger than the last time we confronted them. What risk is there?" Alex scoffed.

But David chuckled back at him.

"You aren’t the only powerful being on Earth, Alex. The Zhong Kui’s master isn’t just a regular Joe. He has the power to contend with you, maybe even win. We can’t afford to get there tired. We’ll need to be at full power if we want to have any leverage."

Alex’s frown deepened.

"Then what are our options?"

Kujaku interrupted them.

"About that. I can help."