Lu Chenfei asked suspiciously, "Isn't it normal to have seeds in the forest?"
Indeed, there are plants everywhere in the forest, and it is normal to have a variety of seeds, but...
Xia Jing thought about it, changed another piece of land, dug down, and found the same seed.
The open space they were in was about a circle with a diameter of more than ten meters. They worked together for more than half an hour and dug out more than twenty red seeds in total.
Everyone gathered together, and Chenghua asked, "Could this be the seed of some common plant in the forest?"
Lu Xiang and the others also helped dig for a while, but after looking left and right, they found that there were a lot of seeds, but nothing special about them.
Lü Xiang was so tired that he sat down on the ground again and complained, "So what did you all see? Tell me!"
After Song Yang examined the seeds, his eyes, along with Xia Jing's, looked back to the way they came.
The group followed their gaze, understood what they meant, and gradually their expressions became serious.
You Ye narrowed his eyes and asked, "Do you think that there are such seeds in the soil of this entire forest?"
"Let's try digging a little more," Song Yang said, glancing at the sky. "We'll walk back while we dig. We'll arrive at the hotel just in the evening."
By the way, you can also test the people in the hotel to find out what kind of plants these seeds belong to.
This job is very tedious and tiring, but fortunately, except for Lu Xiang and Zhou Yaqing, the other players in this group are willing to work hard.
By around five in the evening, they had almost dug up the entire two-kilometer road, and the final result was similar to what Xia Jing and Song Yang had guessed.
——They discovered hundreds of red seeds one after another.
They did not take all the seeds back, but only roughly counted the number and observed the distribution density.
At this point, no one dares to say that these seeds are ordinary, because the number of these seeds is obviously hundreds of times more than that of other seeds.
But is there really such a plant in the forest, with such abundance that its seeds are everywhere?
The group looked around cautiously.
The whole forest is lush and green, and it's green everywhere you look.
Lu Chenfei exclaimed in amazement: "Except for the leaves that look completely different, the other plants all look pretty much the same to me!"
Xia Jing pondered, "If such a large number of seeds were attached to the plant itself, we wouldn't have missed them. If they were wrapped in the flesh, there would probably be a lot of fruit as well."
However, the fact is that they did not see any plants that looked like seeds along the way.
The hotel was right in front of them. Lu Chenfei's props had expired, so Song Yang took the lead and walked into the hotel, followed by the others.
The mustachioed hotel manager had been serving in the lobby. When he saw them, he immediately flashed his signature smile. But the next second, his expression suddenly changed. He stepped forward to block their way and asked politely, "Did you bring anything from the forest in?"
——How did this guy know?!
Xia Jing looked at the NPC inquiringly. Song Yang remained calm and composed. He took out the seeds he had brought with him and asked, "We found these in the forest. Do you know what kind of plant these seeds are?"
"Sorry, we don't know either, but anything from the forest is strictly prohibited from being brought into the hotel. Firstly, it's because the earthy smell is too strong, and secondly, it's because it will attract wild animals." The man with the mustache spread out his hands and smiled. "Please let me take care of these seeds, sir?"
Everyone quickly sniffed themselves and indeed smelled a bit of earthy odor, but they had already become olfactory fatigued after being surrounded by such odors.
But Song Yang didn't move, he just stared at the mustache.
The mustache man remained calm and smiling as he repeated word for word, "Please let me handle these seeds, sir."
Song Yang raised his chin and said nonchalantly, "If we don't pay, we won't be able to enter the hotel today?"
The mustache froze.
The corners of his mouth immediately drooped, his narrow, curved eyes straightened into a straight line, and all the facial muscles on his face seemed to droop.
He stared straight at Song Yang and said, "Sir, everything our hotel does is to protect the safety of our guests. Please don't joke like that! I've already booked a room and paid online, so how can I not stay here?"
The completely different face of the little mustache made Cheng Hua and the others' hair stand on end. It seemed so weird no matter how they looked at it.
Seeing that Song Yang was not moved at all, the corners of his mustache twitched nervously. Soon, as if he adjusted his mood, he put on a smile and said, "If you really want these seeds, how about this? We will keep them for you for a while and return them to you in the evening. Is that okay? Please don't embarrass us anymore. We also have to consider the safety of other guests staying at the hotel!"
Song Yang looked at him for a moment before handing over the seed.
Cheng Hua called softly from behind him, "Song Yang!"
Song Yang tilted his head to indicate that he was fine.
When the man with the mustache took the seeds and turned to leave, Xia Jing followed him without waiting for others to react. After following him for two steps, he stopped and watched the man with the mustache disappear around the corner.
If I remember correctly, that's the direction of the kitchen.
Xia Jing raised his eyebrows.
"What's going on now? I'm completely confused," Zhou Yaqing said in a low voice, "Do we really have to stay here tonight?"
Lu Chenfei said: "Again, if we want to find out the clues, we have to stay here. Otherwise, we are not even guests. We can't even go upstairs, so how can we find clues about the hotel?"
Zhou Yaqing bit her lip.
Song Yang exhaled and said, "There's not much we can do right now. After dinner, let's search the hotel as soon as possible while there are fewer people around."
Xia Jing was still staring at the direction of the kitchen: "I'll check the first floor."
Song Yang knew Xia Jing would say this, so he said, "Then Xia Jing and I will check the first floor, and the rest of you can help search the upstairs again, okay?"
If the others have no objection, then let's go eat first...
At this time, Zhou Yaqing said gloomily, "I have no appetite. How dare you eat the food made in this hotel?"
Cheng Hua and the others were stunned, then shook their heads awkwardly.
How much they enjoyed the meal before, how scared they are now.
Gu Xing was standing at the outermost edge. Hearing this, she didn't dare to refute, but pursed her lips and rubbed her belly.
Her stomach was already rumbling.
Lu Xiang wasn't as introverted as her. He spoke whatever he thought. He shouted, "But aren't you hungry? We won't be able to leave the dungeon soon. We have to eat something!"
Cheng Hua and the others said awkwardly, "...This is indeed a problem."
Lu Xiang pinched his throat and said, "Xiao Yangyang just said not to eat vegetables, so we can just pick meat to eat! Otherwise, if we don't get killed by monsters, we will all starve to death!"
Cheng Hua and the others: "...Indeed, indeed."
Song Yang: "..."
Xia Jing turned his head and looked at him.
Song Yang said alertly: "You are not allowed to say it."
Xia Jing slowly pronounced the three words from between his lips and teeth: "Xiao Yangyang."
The young man curled his lips and looked at him with a smile.
Lu Chenfei standing aside had a gloating look on his face, with a few words written on his face: It's finally your turn!
Song Yang's eyelids twitched. In his twenty-three years of life, he had never been called like that. He felt very strange at the moment.
Zhou Yaqing didn't like Lu Xiang in the first place, so she said, "Then you guys go eat. I'm not going to eat anyway. I'm going upstairs to rest."
You Ye restrained her expression and said, "Sister Zhou, although it's not evening yet, it's best not to act alone. What Lu Xiang said actually makes some sense. How about this, I'll go to the hotel supermarket to buy some snacks, and then we can go up together and eat at least a little."
Zhou Yaqing was able to understand You Ye's words and nodded reluctantly.
Chenghua and the others said, "Then let's do the same. Let's buy some chocolate oden or something. As long as there are no vegetables, it will be fine, right?"
Lu Xiang curled his lips.
He rubbed his stomach and complained quietly, "I'm starving."
After making up their minds, a group of people rushed to the hotel supermarket. Xia Jing went ahead and jokingly called out, "Doctor Yang, let's go."
Song Yang: "..."
God damn, I look up to the doctor...
Song Yang felt that he needed oxygen.
He followed, tried to hold back his breath, but couldn't hold it back anymore. He walked to Xia Jing, glanced at him, and said, "Xiao Jing..."
Xia Jing glanced at him.
Song Yang: I can't say it.jpg
Xia Jing looked at the man's unwilling expression and his smile deepened.
And his look made Song Yang grit his teeth.
Song Yang took a deep breath, changed the name to one that he felt more comfortable calling, and said, "Xiao Xia Xia."
Xia Jing blinked and accepted the title well: "Doctor Song, how old are you this year?"
Song Yang smiled wryly: "It's been ten years since I graduated from elementary school. Thank you."
Xia Jing raised his lips: "Really? That's good."
Xia Jing's sighing tone made Song Yang's eyelids twitch even more violently.
Song Yang felt like he had raised a mean kitten. The kitten would scratch him from time to time and shake its ears with interest. He felt helpless and unwilling, but he had no other way to punish this guy.
He had no choice but to say viciously: "I see that you are younger than me. If I were an elementary school student, then you wouldn't have even graduated from kindergarten, right?"
Xia Jing laughed heartily: "Then how can you be sure that I'm younger than you? Don't forget, in the "Death Ringing" dungeon, the secondary monster gave a hint that I'm also over twenty years old."
"It's just a hunch. Even at twenty, you're still younger than me," Song Yang said, sizing up Xia Jing. "My intuition is always pretty accurate."
Thinking about it this way, there's nothing wrong with calling her "Xiao Xia Xia", it's just a bit corny.
Xia Jing walked forward and chuckled, "Doctor Song, don't speak too soon. I'm not a human, and my appearance won't improve with age."
Song Yang seemed not to hear anything. He thought for a while and then muttered to himself, "Xia Xia?"
Xia Jing paused.
He raised his head and looked at the man beside him.
Song Yang lowered his eyes and stared at him, saying, "If you really had an identity in the human world, would your mother call you that?"
Xia Jing looked at him straight without saying a word.
There was an inexplicable silence between the two of them.
Song Yang finally realized something subtle.
He looked away, cleared his throat and was about to speak, but Xia Jing whispered, "Call me again and see?"
Song Yang was stunned and looked back suddenly.
Xia Jing was a little absent-minded: "I just seemed to remember that someone called me that before."
Song Yang was a little surprised.
…
Of course, this sudden appearance of memory is like a flash of inspiration, which can be captured but not tracked.
No matter how many times Song Yang called him, Xia Jing didn't remember anything else, and couldn't help feeling a little regretful.
However, he specifically allowed Song Yang to continue calling him that in the future so that he could stimulate him to recover his memory at any time.
Song Yang: "..."
Really worthy of being a cat master.
*
After buying things, the group went upstairs and had a quick bite. It was getting dark outside.
They began to act separately.
Xia Jing and Song Yang went straight down to the first floor.
It was eight o'clock in the evening and there were very few people in the hotel lobby. The receptionist was working behind the computer, and the mustache-wearing manager was nowhere to be seen.
The two of them slipped into the kitchen, and coincidentally, there was no one in the kitchen.
With little effort, they found the seeds in a glass jar next to a pond.
The glass jar was filled with transparent liquid, and a dozen red seeds were immersed in the liquid. There was a label on the glass jar with the words 17:34 written on it.
Xia Jing recognized it at a glance: "This is the time when he took the seeds away."
Xia Jing opened the bottle, leaned in to sniff it, and then stretched out his finger——
Song Yang pulled his fingers away.
Xia Jing looked up at him silently.
Song Yang said expressionlessly, "I know you won't die, but I want to correct your reckless habits."
Xia Jing said with a half-smile: "Okay, thank you, Dad."
Song Yang: "..."
He found a chopping board and poured some of the liquid in the glass jar onto the chopping board. After waiting for two seconds, there was no change on the chopping board. This at least proved that the liquid was not corrosive and the seeds immersed in the liquid did not have any special functions.
There is a row of fish tanks next to the pool, with live fish in them.
Although he felt a little sorry for the fish, Song Yang still caught one and dripped two drops of liquid from the glass jar into the fish's mouth. The little fish jumped around and struggled in his hand.
Song Yang put the fish back into the tank.
He was already very confident at this moment, so he dipped his finger in it and licked it with his lips.
"This is water," he confirmed.
Xia Jing commented, "If your parents ever saw your body, would your friends tell them that you were correcting someone else's reckless behavior?"
Song Yang choked and said with a twitch of his mouth: "What good will it do you if I get mad at you to death?"
Xia Jing raised his eyebrows.
At least he was cheerful.
Xia Jing glanced at the entire kitchen and said slowly, "The hotel doesn't allow guests to bring things from the forest back to the hotel, but they don't prohibit guests from entering the forest during the day."
Because the marketing selling point of this hotel is a forest hotel, there is a detailed introduction to the forest on a board in the hotel lobby.
However, the hotel also reminds guests not to go too deep into the forest to avoid getting lost and having accidents.
"If the customer insists, they will take the seeds away and keep them for a period of time, soak the seeds in water, and write down the time when they will be taken away."
"Time," Xia Jing said softly, "the time they keep the seeds is very important."
And what does all this represent?
In addition, the kitchen, the place where meals are produced, is also very important.
A hotel chef would not leave work so early. The reason why he is not in the kitchen now is probably that he has nothing to do and went out to take a break.
If they really come back suddenly, the two of them can find excuses to deal with it, so they are not panicked at all.
Song Yang opened the kitchen freezer to continue looking for clues. As Xia Jing searched, he found a door in the corner of the kitchen, hidden by a row of cabinets.
He opened the door and looked down——
What appeared before him was a row of descending stairs, about a dozen steps.
There was only a small lamp in the narrow corridor, maintaining a dim light, and at the end of the stairs was a second tightly closed door.
——There is actually a secret room in the kitchen.
Xia Jing narrowed his eyes and took one step forward.
He walked down the last step, stopped in front of the second door, turned his head and looked to the right.
The right side is not a wall like the left side, but another passage extending out.
About ten meters away, there was a third door, which was also closed.
Things were becoming more and more interesting, and interest showed in Xia Jing's eyes.
He turned his head and lowered it again.
At this moment, the crack of the second door
Just as Xia Jing took a step closer, the leaf shrank quickly into the door and disappeared.
Xia Jing paused, raised his eyes, calmly grasped the door handle, and twisted it gently. Halfway through, he felt it was stuck.
This door cannot be opened.
He gently turned the doorknob back to its normal position and released it silently.
Then he squatted down and slowly bent down.
It was pitch black in the gap between the tightly closed doors.
In this darkness, Xia Jing's calm gaze met a pair of eyes that were staring straight at him.