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Chapter 45 – Esophagus 17
After Lian Qiao entered the elevator holding Xu RenDong, his frantically beating heart finally eased.
He constantly stared at Xu RenDong’s chest, confirming that he was still breathing. He also rested his hand on Xu RenDong’s carotid artery, for fear that the weak pulse which was almost intangible would disappear the next second. Fortunately, after entering the elevator, Xu RenDong’s vital signs stabilized and his complexion gradually improved.
Soon, Lian Qiao discovered that Xu RenDong’s body was getting heavier and heavier. Not only his weight but also Xu RenDong’s height and appearance were also gradually turning back into an adult.
Lian Qiao’s heart finally settled down. Once the tight threads in his brain became loose, his body lost its strength. He slid down against the elevator wall, letting Xu RenDong pillow on his lap. The elevator made a low noise and Xu RenDong still did not wake up. Lian Qiao looked down at him and his heart suddenly moved.
Xu RenDong’s appearance was changing at a speed visible to the naked eye. His baby fat gradually faded and the cheekbones and jaw began to appear more contoured. His facial features became deeper and deeper, and this Adam’s apple bulged out bit by bit, slowly transforming his appearance into that of an adult man.
It should have taken more than ten years to change from a boy to a man but Lian Qiao witnessed all this in just a dozen seconds. He watched quietly and there was an unspeakable sense of happiness in his heart, as if… as if he had..
As if he had personally witnessed Xu RenDong’s growing up. It seemed that all the missed and lost time he could have had with Xu RenDong had all been compensated to him.
“…Heh.” Lian Qiao let out a low and pleasant sigh. He hooked his mouth slightly and gently stroked Xu RenDong’s eyes with his fingers. The movement was extremely gentle and he felt as if he was touching the most precious treasure in the world. Even just a light touch might harm him.
That’s right… what about the injury to his leg?!
Lian Qiao suddenly woke up from his thoughts. He turned to look at Xu RenDong’s calf. Fortunately, the deep wound that showed bone was gone. The skin has also returned to a smooth and beautiful appearance, which made people want to touch it.
Xu RenDong must rarely exercise because his legs were so white. The calf is straight and straight, with smooth lines, no obvious muscles, and looked as delicate as a girl’s.
The shape of the ankle was very beautiful, it was thin and could be held in the palm of one hand. The ankle was so white…
He wanted to lick it.
“What the hell am I thinking!” Lian Qiao held his forehead, ashamed of his dirty thoughts. He turned his head and saw that Xu RenDong was still unconscious and had not awakened. The guilt in his heart became more serious.
At this moment, Xu RenDong’s lips moved suddenly.
“Brother RenDong?” Lian Qiao called out in surprise but Xu RenDong didn’t wake up. However underneath his eyelids, his eyes moved slightly.
Xu RenDong’s lips were still moving: “…is…you want…”
“What?” Lian Qiao leaned down and heard Xu RenDong’s weak breath saying:
“You will experience countless… tortures…”
“But it is not a punishment…”
“When you reach.. you will understand…”
“Live on…”
“Live…”
Xu RenDong repeated the last sentence twice and stopped talking. Lian Qiao was confused when he heard it then suddenly remembered that Xu RenDong had said that when they came out of the Russian matryoshka instance, he heard a strange series of sentences in the elevator which seemed to be the same as these.
Lian Qiao quickly took out his phone and opened the memo. At that time, Xu RenDong wrote down the sentence like this: *** is ***, you want ***. You will experience countless tortures, but this is not ***, it is ***. When you reach ***, you will understand ***. *** live on.
And this time, compared with the last time, there were several more keywords.
“But this is not a punishment.”
You will experience countless tortures, but this is not a punishment… so what was it?
Lian Qiao immediately realized that new keywords would be unlocked every time he cleared an instance. There must be some major secret behind this passage but they still had a long way to go to solve the mystery.
Where did this information come from? What did it want to tell them? Why did only  Brother RenDong receive such a message and not anybody else?
All in all, the answer can only be obtained after completing all the instances.
Eight keyword fragments were still missing. Does this mean that there were eight more instances? If these eight instances were cleared, would they be able to completely return to real life and be safe and happy from then on?
Lian Qiao thought about it while recording this passage on his cell phone. When he finished typing the last word, there was a “ding” above his head. The elevator doors opened.
“Uh…” The person lying on his knees suddenly moved.
“Brother RenDong!” Lian Qiao was overjoyed. This time Xu RenDong really woke up.
“…Hu…” Xu RenDong got up from the ground, rubbed his forehead and let out a long breath. He looked around and saw that the elevator door had opened and outside the door was a familiar apartment building. He couldn’t help but sigh again.
“We are finally back.” Xu RenDong said.
Lian Qiao pulled him up from the ground and said with a smile, “Yes, we are back! We have successfully completed another instance~”
The two walked out of the elevator side by side. The elevator door quickly closed behind them and then the entire elevator disappeared silently. When Xu RenDong looked back again, there was already the familiar building staircase behind him. Since he got a job after graduating, he has had to walk on these stairs twice a day to and from work. He couldn’t count how many times he’s walked on them. But at that moment, he felt as though he could not remember the feeling of walking on these stairs at all.
“How are you feeling now? Is  your leg okay?” Lian Qiao was still a little worried and helped him to walk to his apartment. “Go in and rest.”
Xu RenDong stopped at his door and shook his head: ” No, there is still something to do.”
Lian Qiao: “Huh? What is it?”
Xu RenDong: “Eating barbecue.”
Lian Qiao was taken aback and then smiled with his eyes curved.
The night market downstairs was very lively. Barbecue, spicy soup, hand-cooked cakes, there was a bit of everything. There was a university town nearby and many students came out for supper in the evening so it was very lively. After ten o’clock, there were still a lot of voices.
The two found a spot on the barbecue stall and Lian Qiao ordered almost everything on the menu. There was choking smoke from the barbecue, making the surrounding air hot and the two people quickly got hot and began sweating. While drinking a cold beer, Lian Qiao told Xu RenDong about the button.
Xu RenDong said: “Only you could have thought of that. How can this instance be so disgusting, actually wanting people to fish for the button in vomit.”
Lian Qiao said: “In fact, I should have realized it easily. After Lamia found her son, she disappeared along with him and the dining table disappeared too. The only thing left was the vomit. According to routine, it should be investigated. But my mind was a mess at the time. I thought that after finishing this task, the button would drop directly but it didn’t happen. At the time I felt completely lost.”
Xu RenDong was confused due to excessive blood loss. He remembered that Lian Qiao was walking around in the cave irritably. Ye QingLiu patted his arm to comfort him and then nothing else. At this point, Xu RenDong suddenly remembered: “By the way, where is Ye QingLiu? Was there anyone else?”
Lian Qiao was shocked and said with a guilty conscience that everything was settled and that everybody came out without incident. Xu RenDong smiled and said: “Ye QingLiu is also a heroine. Right now, she should still be in the operating room right? I wonder if she gave birth to a son or a daughter… It’s okay. I’ll know when she invites us to have full moon wine.”
Lian Qiao nodded obediently.
After that, he explained to Xu RenDong what he said while unconscious in the elevator. Xu RenDong fell into contemplation after hearing it. The two people discussed it but still couldn’t figure out any clues, so they could only put the matter aside for the time being.
According to the results of Lian Qiao’s investigation, the next time they entered the next ghost instance should be in one month. Until then, they could have a good rest and prepare the equipment needed to bring into the next instance. If nothing else, then at least they needed to prepare food. Xu RenDong strongly agreed with this.
“By the way, are you free next weekend?” Lian Qiao suddenly put down the lamb skewers in his hand and smiled a little shyly. “There is an exhibition at the Exhibition Center… Well, it’s a games and animation exhibition and they’ve asked me to be a guest and gave me a VIP ticket.”
Xu RenDong took out his phone and opened the calendar. He checked the time and said, “I don’t need to go to work that day. But…”
Lian Qiao heard the “but” and his heart was immediately filled with loss. However he still waited for the final hammer to fall with a smile. “Yes?”
“But our company is…how do you say it?” Xu RenDong thought for a while and explained seriously, “You know I am a Financial Analyst and my job is to regularly summarize and analyze the latest financial information. I usually do it when I’m at work. But if there is any news after work, I have to follow up quickly and write a report immediately. So I can’t promise I can visit the entire exhibition with you…”
Lian Qiao looked at his black and white eyes, which were as clear as mercury, and saw his serious expression. His heart suddenly softened into a pool of water.
Xu RenDong still said: “Or I could bring my laptop. Is there wifi at the venue? If necessary, I can find a place to sit down and do work. You can continue to look around and we can go home together when the exhibition is over. Will that work?”
Lian Qiao only felt that he was drowning in Xu RenDong’s eyes. He softly said: “Okay.”
Xu RenDong said: “Then send me the location of the venue, I can see how long it will take to drive there.”
Lian Qiao suddenly realized: “Hey! You have a car?”
Xu RenDong nodded. Lian Qiao couldn’t help thinking about the scene of the two of them being alone in the small space in the car and couldn’t help but giggle out loud.
Xu RenDong seemed to notice something and suddenly asked in surprise: “What’s bulging in your pants?”
“Fuck?!” Lian Qiao was shocked. How could I react so fast? How come I didn’t feel it at all? Could it be that I, within seconds,… ahhhh!
But when he looked down at the crotch, he was surprised to find that Xu RenDong’s  “bulging place” did not mean his indescribable spot but instead his trouser pocket?
Lian Qiao put his hand into his trouser pocket. Then his face suddenly changed and he couldn’t help but yell again: “Fuck!”
“What’s the matter?” Xu RenDong also became nervous.
Lian Qiao frowned, then glanced around cautiously. He then pulled the stool in front of Xu RenDong and quietly stretched his hand from under the table. Xu RenDong looked down and then his back suddenly tensed. The hot barbecue stall seemed to have suddenly turned into an ice cave.
“We seem to have accidentally… brought Lamia’s eyes out.” Lian Qiao said helplessly.