Walking upstairs slowly, Lei Zhen felt the temperature gradually rising, almost as if they were being bathed by the sun directly.
It wasn't just Lei Zhen feeling the temperature was getting hotter. Candice and Bella might not have said a word, but sweat was clearly trickling down from their forehead.
Given that these two were the ones that exerted most of their power, being exposed to a sudden heat caused their stamina to decrease gradually.
"Let's stop climbing the stairs for now and have you two rehydrate." Lei Zhen paused his footsteps and said. As much as he wished to complete the dungeon within a time frame, he was not going to risk these two people who are clearly feeling the heat.
He took out two new water bottles that he had kept in his inventory and handed them to Candice and Bella.
Despite being in a video game world, everything was realistic, meaning one had to worry about hydration as well as hunger. Thus, Lei Zhen was always prepared to be stuck in some sort of scenario that required food and water.
"C-Can I also have a water bottle?" Jessica asked nervously.
Originally, she wasn't feeling that thirsty but seeing him handing it out to Candice and Bella, who quickly drank to their fill, she couldn't help but shamelessly ask for one too.
She was sweating as well and some of them had dripped into her clothes, causing them to be somewhat transparent as well.
Lei Zhen could only twitch his mouth helplessly. Her clothes became transparent because she had taken them off due to the temperature being too hot for her to handle.
But to not look weak and complain again, only to be reprimanded, she decided to keep silent and took matters into her own hand.
"Although we did reprimand you slightly, don't force yourself if you really can't handle it." Lei Zhen sighed softly and handed her another fresh water bottle.
"We are a team right now, so it's best to speak up if you're ever feeling uncomfortable. Otherwise, there's no point in partying up in the first place." He added, taking out another water bottle to drink, lifting his mask slightly up.
And yup, throughout all this time, Lei Zhen was keeping his mask on mainly because he was used to having it on his face. Hence, he didn't even know he was hiding his face the entire time, prompting Jessica to finally ask him a serious question.
"Did you choose to assimilate your real appearance in the game as well and that you look ugly in real life? Hence you don't want to reveal your appearance to us?" Jessica asked solemnly.
Her seriousness of the question nearly caused Lei Zhen to choke on the water.
After coughing a few times, Lei Zhen tried his best to keep cool.
"That's not it. I just keep my appearance hidden because I don't wish to have unnecessary troubles coming at me." He then explained.
"Hmm, but you just told us to speak up if we're ever feeling uncomfortable. And right now, I'm feeling quite uncomfortable to see the only man in our party hiding his face." Jessica said bluntly, using his own words against him.
"..."
Even Candice and Bella couldn't help but make a "Puchi" laugh sound as they didn't expect Jessica to be so clever.
"I'm sorry, but whose side are you on?" Lei Zhen turned his head toward Candice and asked in a disbelieving tone.
pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ "I'm definitely on your side, Master, but this is kind of hilarious. It's hard to not laugh when even Bella is laughing as well." Candice stood up and stuck her tongue out slightly, scratching her head in the meantime.
As for Bella, she merely nodded her head in agreement to show support to Candice.
Seeing that everyone had turned their target to him, Lei Zhen clicked his tongue and snorted.
"Tsk, I wouldn't bite my own words." He then said, taking off his mask.
When his face was revealed to Jessica and Bella, they were astonished to see his handsome face.
"Huh? I definitely thought you weren't that good-looking, so you had the mask on. I was so ready to give my consolation words to make you feel better." Jessica said honestly.
"You look good," Bella commented, not bothering to say anymore.
"Anyway, we should focus on rehydrating ourselves and continue to climb the stairs. We don't have all day to idle here." Lei Zhen drank his water and warned them.
If it wasn't for their quest time limit, then Lei Zhen would have allowed them to rest a bit more.
However, that wasn't the case and each time they spent resting, the less time they had to complete the dungeon.
Jessica agreed and quickly chug the water down her throat before wiping it with her hands. Despite the rough action, considering how she looked like a mature beauty, the scene would have caused many men to drool over her.
Alas, the person she did it to was Lei Zhen, who was more focused on his goal than this kind of stuff.
A few minutes later, everyone rehydrated themselves and had begun to adapt to the new hot temperature as they climbed the stairs upward.
Finally, when they reached the end of the staircase, what greeted them was a duplicate of the wasteland field.
Everywhere is sand and resembles the desert environment in which there is a burning sun, heating the surface of the sand and everywhere else.
"I'm starting to think that this Sahara Exodus is a game killer. How did other players in the past manage to complete this dungeon?" Jesscia's breathing was rapid as she sighed in defeat.
"I don't think we have the leisure to relax and be complaining now." Lei Zhen suddenly said, his eyes turned vigilant.
"The path ahead is a quicksand that covers a wide range of fields. We'll need to wrap around it to avoid being trapped there." He added.
Hearing that from Lei Zhen, Jessica nearly fainted from shock and wanted to call it a day already.
'Why must this game torture me?' She wondered silently.
