206: Chapter 206 Cold Stone

Xiao Niao held the novice linen pants that Gualing gave him. Although Gualing had worn them, in the game, who would care about that? Besides, even if Gualing had worn them, they were far better than the ragged pants he was currently wearing that couldn't even cover his butt. So, once Xiao Niao had the pants in his hands, he couldn't wait to change out of the ones he was currently wearing.

But where should he go to change? He wasn't a rough guy like Hu Gualing who could just find any place, or even lean against the BOSS's corpse to change his pants. If he were to take off his pants while leaning against the giant, ugly corpse of the Mutated White Wild Boar, which was stained with countless green, pus-like liquid...

Just thinking about it in his mind made Xiao Niao shiver uncontrollably.

Fortunately, as they picked up all the loot, the corpse of the Mutated White Wild Boar had turned into white light, gradually fading away and disappearing. Even if he wanted to use the Mutated White Wild Boar's corpse as a screen, it was no longer possible.

"Then where should I go to change my pants now?" Xiao Niao muttered, looking around. He found that there was almost no place to hide. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he noticed a strangely shaped, pitch-black rock in the middle of the hall. That big rock was four or five meters high, with no hollow design in the middle; it was a solid piece. If he hid behind that big rock, blocking Hu Gualing and Tang Yao's line of sight would be simple.

Thinking this, Xiao Niao walked happily to the side of the pitch-black rock. Up close, he saw that the pitch-black color of this rock didn't seem to be just the color of the stone itself, but a faint, pitch-black light radiating from the inside out. This was strange.

Xiao Niao was both surprised and happy, because in the game, things with special effects like this were usually not simple; perhaps it was some kind of treasure.

Xiao Niao happily reached out and lightly touched the pitch-black rock. As soon as his fingers touched the stone, he felt a chill wash over him, as if it went straight from his fingertips into his marrow. Xiao Niao cautiously withdrew his hand to examine it, finding no abnormalities on his fingers. He also carefully checked his status bar and found that his HP and status were fine. Only then did he feel relieved and reached out to touch the pitch-black rock again. The texture was smooth and icy, making Xiao Niao feel like he wasn't touching a rock, but a block of ice.

But after all, it was a game, so it was normal for things with special materials to appear.

Xiao Niao touched it a couple of times but found no other abnormalities. He tried to put the big rock into his backpack, but no matter how he issued the command to collect the item in his mind, the pitch-black rock stood motionless in the center of the hall.

'Could it be that this big rock isn't a treasure, but just a fixed piece of scenery?' Xiao Niao frowned slightly and thought to himself.

"What are you doing?" Hu Gualing, seeing that Xiao Niao wasn't changing his pants but was instead fiddling with this big rock, couldn't help asking curiously.

"Oh, I saw this rock glowing and thought it was something good, but it seems to be just a non-interactive piece of fixed scenery." Xiao Niao patted the big rock one last time, and seeing that it really didn't have any reaction, he couldn't help but withdraw his hand, saying with a bit of disappointment.

"Sigh, it's not that easy to find treasure," Hu Gualing laughed after hearing Xiao Niao's words. He had also touched this big rock; it was when he was knocked flying by the Mutated White Wild Boar during the previous battle and landed next to this rock. He had used this rock to steady himself and stand up, so he had also experienced the icy touch of the rock. He didn't know how the Mutated White Wild Boar usually sat on it; wasn't it afraid of freezing its butt?

Hu Gualing let his mind wander for a while, but unlike Xiao Niao, he didn't think this black rock was a treasure. Because in his experience, even if there were treasures, they should be in treasure chests, or at worst, hidden in some jars or pots; how could they be on such an obvious big rock?

So he didn't care about this big rock and just urged Xiao Niao, "Stop dawdling, just change your pants behind this rock. I see it's getting late, let's head back to the village before logging off."

'Why go back to the village?' Xiao Niao was about to ask, but suddenly thought of Tang Yao and her pet, the Sharp-toothed Piglet.

It didn't matter to him and Hu Gualing where they logged off; in fact, logging off right here in the Dungeon might even be better, because the next time they logged in, they could continue exploring directly from here without having to run all the way out from the village again.

But Tang Yao was different from them. It was likely because she was a vegetative patient in reality that she seemed to be able to go without logging off—or rather, could not log off at all? Regarding this point, Xiao Niao wasn't very certain, but based on his and Hu Gualing's guesses, he suspected that Tang Yao was likely staying in the game the whole time.

This meant that after their game time was up and they logged off on the spot, Tang Yao and her pet, Sharp Tooth, would be left here all alone.

Although Tang Yao and Sharp Tooth's strength had greatly improved after this BOSS battle, the situation in the wild was complicated. Not to mention anything else, there was a group of wild boars just outside the corridor of this Dungeon. Tang Yao and her pet might not be able to handle them alone. So, since they came out together, they should indeed go back together.

It was a long story, but in fact, these thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Xiao Niao understood Hu Gualing's intention and couldn't help nodding in approval, thinking, 'Gualing is usually careless, but I didn't expect him to have a careful side. In this situation, he's actually more thoughtful than me.'

Xiao Niao didn't know that Hu Gualing wasn't being careful; rather, he had long regarded Tang Yao as a powerful player to rely on. Just like when he used to carry clients to level up and get gear in games, he had to take good care of the client in every aspect. Only when the client was happy would they be willing to pay more. Ever since they left the village, Hu Gualing had been serving Tang Yao like a client, so he naturally wouldn't forget to escort her back to the village.

However, Xiao Niao didn't know these inner thoughts of Hu Gualing. He just thought that Gualing was rough but careful and made sense, so he decided to listen to him, quickly change his pants, and hurry back to the village.