About half an hour later.
"We're almost there."
"They haven't moved at all in this half hour... It looks like they've been waiting for us."
"A wise choice, realizing we were converging on their position, it was best not to move from their spot."
The woman murmured softly.
After all, in this dangerous territory, more routes meant more likelihood of being attacked; they had encountered quite a few Fierce Beasts on their way and had vaguely seen some odd buildings, but they had kept their distance.
By staying put, they could at least provide a safe Sanctuary, allowing them time to make new arrangements after gathering.
The three white-haired figures silently stared at the distant temple, and the rising smoke...
"Why is there still smoke?"
"Could there still be incense burning inside?"
"Don't joke, it's indeed possible, and it looks like there's nothing odd outside of it either."
They scanned the area next to the temple and saw no other presence, but noticed the approaching Black Rain was much closer now.
They knew the enemy was strong and now had great expectations for their two remaining teammates.
They had gotten within fifty steps of the temple.
"Is it just me, or can I smell the scent of meat drifting over?"
"It's not your imagination, I smell it too, not just meat, but also chili..."
They headed toward the temple gate, and upon entering... they saw a busy scene.
"Is the garlic peeled?"
"Washing it, Brother Su."
They looked at the seasonings on the ground, the plethora of kitchen tools, and the marinated fresh meat.
Their expressions froze.
"What are you doing!" blurted the Giant Axe Man, dumbfounded.
"Umm..." The young man also noticed the three people at the door and coughed, "You must be teammates, right?"
"Sorry, sorry, we had nothing to do while waiting for you, and when some Fierce Beasts attacked, we just..."
A voice came from inside: "The garlic and Coriander?"
The young man hurriedly ran inside: "Coming, coming."
The three of them looked at each other in silence, not saying a word.
"What do you all think."
"I think... this duel is going to be worse than I imagined."
The woman sighed, realizing the seriousness of the situation.
If it were normal newcomers they could cope, but now...
"Leaving aside this behavior, making a noise in such a place... exposing information," said the Giant Axe Man with a heavy voice, "is foolish, more troublesome than the drag of new players."
"Boss, let's just leave."
The woman also looked to the white-haired man; she'd rather move with the three of them than carry two burdens.
But the white-haired man didn't speak; his eyes were profound, hinting at emotions inscrutable.
He spoke softly, "Let's go in."
"Why, boss?" The Giant Axe Man asked, slightly stunned.
"Although everything seems bad, beyond the usual experience of combat, you've forgotten the most important point," said the white-haired man softly.
"The oddities are gone."
Both of them were moved.
They hadn't seen any odd presence around the temple.
Each Sanctuary they had been in, including the enemy team's, they would encounter oddities, which had to be dealt with first before any further actions could be taken.
"It seems that they have either driven away or lured off the oddities. They likely didn't kill them because..."
The woman's eyes turned bloody, and she saw no traces of battle around.
When they entered the inner part of the temple.
They saw another player besides the young man, competently cutting and preparing the ingredients in hand.
They really were cooking, and the scent was so enticing that it almost overwhelmed them.
"Ah, let me introduce myself, I'm Rhythm... a new player from the open beta, and this is Su Ke, he's the same as me," the young man hurriedly said.
Su Qi smiled and said, "The three of you must be tired from the journey, care for some hot soup?"
The Giant Axe Man paused slightly; natural introductions were in order for team PVP, he spoke with a steady voice: "Just call me Giant Axe, she's Butterfly, and this is... our leader, Bai Yilin."
"Can I first confirm one thing."
Butterfly spoke softly, "There should be oddities outside the temple, were they driven away by you?"
She needed to confirm this to ascertain if they truly had strength.
"It's a long story..."
"To put it simply..." Su Qi pulled back the kitchen curtain.
There, wearing a red outfit, was the oddity, sitting quietly at the table, drinking meat soup.
"She is now my guest."
Even Bai Yilin, whose expression had been consistently indifferent, shuddered.
The young man... brought over a pot of meat soup to the table: "Don't know how, but Brother Su's cooking attracted her, and it seems Brother Su could communicate with her, so... things turned out this way."
The three were still silent.
Getting rid of oddities... killing oddities... they had seen it, but it was their first time seeing an oddity being invited in the house, sitting peacefully and having meat soup together.
"Why don't you try it too?" Rhythm reached out his hand and began to ladle soup, "Not only is this soup delicious, but it also increases resistance to the erosion of Black Rain, we haven't dropped much Spiritual Energy."
It was hard to refuse such hospitality.
Sitting somewhat awkwardly opposite the oddity, the sight of its horrific, rotting flesh face made it difficult for the Giant Axe Man and the woman to look directly at the bowl of meat soup before them.