Chapter 214 Whoever sees who burps
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Around Hobert, only two mercenary team members remained, both Sequence 9, and not skilled in combat.
Knowing they would struggle to catch the hare and might become a burden, the two simply didn't pursue.
The remaining twenty-odd people were commoners hired by Jacob, with over a dozen replacing items in the last room under the command of the two mercenary members.
Several lay on the ground, commoners who had met the rabbit's gaze, now ignored by everyone.
While directing the crowd, the two mercenary members discussed the marvels of the sealed artifact, careful to avoid the term "sealed artifact" in front of the commoners, using "that thing" instead.
Hobert found such concealment pointless; without memory cleansing, the common laborers would piece together the existence of a high-level sealed artifact from their whispers once the excavation concluded.
Especially when Jacob sold a large quantity of antiques in Backlund, people would immediately realize a vast treasure was buried here.
Some might even return after Jacob's dig and Christian's protection ended, hoping to find treasures Jacob's team missed.
Just then, Hobert heard a stone door open behind him, which struck him as odd, as there was no stone door behind him!
As he turned to investigate, his intuition stopped him:
Don't look!
Looking will be fatal!
Immediately, immense pressure and dread washed over him, sending shivers down his spine: "Close your eyes!"
But it was too late; Hobert saw cold, clear light flowing from behind him. The two mercenary team members opposite him widened their eyes, unable to react before collapsing.
Hobert, unable to watch the others, quickly shut his eyes and sought cover, guided by memory.
He stumbled twice into the wall in his haste, tearing his clothes, but this was no time to worry. The constant thud of bodies falling reminded him of the approaching danger.
Some commoners, heeding Hobert's warning, closed their eyes: "What's happening? What's happening?"
"Why has the breathing stopped around me?"
Hobert yelled, "Close your eyes and run!"
Thud.
Thud.
Hobert heard slow, heavy footsteps behind him.
He quickened his pace, using the wall for guidance, hearing someone behind him shout: "Who's there? Who's there?"
"Who's beside me? Why are you so furry? Ah!"
A scream sent shivers down Hobert's spine.
The subsequent sounds crashed against Hobert's nerves: "Help! It's right behind me!"
"It's coming to get me! It's coming to get me!"
Then came the sounds of bodies falling, the voices fading.
Extreme fear gripped Hobert's heart. Fortunately, his resistance to mental attacks had increased since becoming a "Barbarian." Despite his trembling hands and legs, he pressed on.
With the last scream, all sounds ceased, save for the slow, heavy "thud... thud..." of footsteps.
The footsteps were slow, as if the creature had trouble moving.
Hobert, hurrying away, finally found a turn. As he entered the next passage, the footsteps faded.
Just as Hobert caught his breath, the "thud... thud..." returned, clear as before, right in front of him!
He was shocked. Did it have "teleportation"?
Or was this an illusion, tempting him to open his eyes?
Remembering Rex's warning, Hobert used "Psychological Cue" on himself: Open your eyes only after escaping.
Then came the question of which way to go: forward or back?
Logically, with the heavy footsteps ahead, he should turn back, but what if that was a trick?
What if its goal was to make him turn around?
"Thud... thud..." grew closer.
Hobert's breathing became heavy. He simply hid on the side of the underground passage, ready to react if it attacked.
Thud.
Just as Hobert decided to wait and see, the sound stopped not far ahead.
Hobert's intuition told him it was standing there, motionless.
"What the f*ck!" Hobert cursed inwardly. What is this sealed artifact? This is inhumane!
After a few seconds of eerie silence, Hobert felt immense pressure from his spirituality: He couldn't hold out much longer!
Hobert's mind raced. The sealed artifact hadn't attacked him in all this time, suggesting it wasn't very alive.
Hobert realized that the others' cries of "It's coming to get me!" were likely illusions born of extreme fear.
Keep moving forward!
Hobert resolved, touching the stone wall as he moved forward.
Most people would turn back, but the risk of turning back was as great as going forward, while forward had only two outcomes: passing by or running into it.
Back might offer escape, but it was more likely to lead to new, unknown dangers.
So Hobert chose forward, where the outcomes were known, and in the world of the extraordinary, the unknown often meant danger.
He could feel a powerful presence right in front of him, watching him.
Hobert suddenly laughed, bolstering his courage, one step, two steps, safely passing the powerful presence, the unsettling gaze vanishing.
Hobert exhaled. Sure enough, as long as he kept his eyes closed, it wouldn't attack.
As he thought this, Hobert turned another corner, unconsciously quickening his pace.
He hadn't gone far when he tripped over something: Strange, the passage was empty before!
He bent down and touched it!
Immediately, cold sweat poured down him!
It was a skeleton!
There was no skeleton in the passage before!
Hobert belatedly realized that he had turned a corner after passing the sealed artifact, how could he turn again so quickly?
The only answer was that Hobert had entered an open stone door.
The only open stone door was likely in the room with the sealed artifact.
Thinking this, Hobert's legs turned to jelly.
But misfortunes never come singly. Hobert's intuition felt the gaze and pressure from behind again. The sealed artifact was turning back, returning to the stone chamber.
Get out of here!
With that thought, Hobert got up and tried to avoid it, but as he stepped out, he tripped over something hard and fell forward.
However, as a Sequence 7, Hobert twisted his body and immediately stood, avoiding the fall.
But because of this turn, his hand left the wall, causing him to lose all sense of direction.
Quickly moving to the right to find the wall again, Hobert suddenly touched a layer of hard feathers.
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