Chapter 37: Chapter37-Targeted Teleportation Scroll
"Big sister, what are you still hesitating about? What's left in the Pioneer Squad worth holding on to? Brother Qing is dead, Yuta and Lawrence have been executed. The Pioneer Squad is no longer the same as you remember it. Leaving and joining Brother John is the best choice."
"I understand everything you're saying. It's not that I still have expectations for the Pioneer Squad, it's just that I can't..."
Helena bit her lip lightly, a trace of sadness flickering in her eyes.
Seeing this, John sighed softly, patted Exiled Immortal on the shoulder, and led him outside.
"John, why don't you try to persuade big sister? Why leave it all to me?"
"You're too impatient. Helena has just gone through so much—losing comrades, betrayal by close friends. Too many things are weighing on her heart, turning it into a mess. What we need to do now is give her time. We can't push her too hard."
"I'm just thinking of what's best for big sister..."
"Helena will understand your intentions. Let's give her some more time."
After convincing Exiled Immortal, John thought about returning to his room to continue studying alchemy and the [Trickster] class.
But as soon as John opened the door, he saw Helena standing in his room, her back to him, breathing heavily.
"He-Helena, what are you doing here?"
John swallowed hard; the atmosphere made him hesitant to approach.
"John, Lawrence is dead."
"Yes, he's dead. He paid the price for his betrayal. He was just a traitor, not worth your sorrow."
Hearing this, Helena nodded slightly, but soon shook her head again.
"I just can't accept that the next time I log out, a friend of so many years will never wake up again. Lawrence wasn't like this before..."
"But when mistakes are made, there are always consequences."
"John, I'm feeling really confused. Can you hold me?"
Helena's abrupt statement left John momentarily distracted, and before he could react, Helena had already thrown herself into his arms.
"Helena, you..."
John's words were cut off as a sweet scent overwhelmed his senses, followed by the soft touch at the corner of his lips.
That damnably real sensation even allowed John to feel Helena's rising body temperature!
Their intertwined tongues finally parted, a transparent thread stretching and breaking between them.
The sudden kiss left John's mind blank, and he could only feel his flushed face and quickened heartbeat.
"Did I scare you?"
Helena didn't seem as composed as she appeared, turning her head shyly, her cheeks flushed. Perhaps it was the sunlight reflecting off her fiery red hair that colored her cheeks.
There was no denying that Helena was truly beautiful—a striking beauty with delicate features, a hot figure, and a passionate personality. Her occasional display of girlish charm made her even more vibrant, the kind that leaves a lasting impression at first glance.
In their previous life, they hadn't had much interaction, so aside from a few collaborations, their relationship remained superficial.
But this time, they were deeply attracted to each other.
"A little bit. Although I had mentally prepared myself, it was still too sudden."
John rubbed his nose, feeling guilty.
He couldn't help it. It would have been one thing if he had just stood there, but his enthusiastic response was quite...
"You never take the initiative! I warn you, I'm in a terrible mood right now. This counts as taking advantage of me, and you have to take responsibility!"
"A kiss doesn't require responsibility, right? Isn't it common to kiss on the cheek as a greeting where you come from?"
"Then! What else do you want to do?"
Noticing John's gaze lingering on her chest, Helena rushed forward and stomped heavily on his foot.
"Until we meet in the real world, don't even think about it!"
...
Meanwhile, at the Pioneer Squad base.
Lawrence, cloaked in a robe with his face hidden in the shadows, looked at the lax guards and couldn't help but sneer.
"Good thing there's this bunch of fools."
With all his equipment destroyed, he couldn't move on to the next big map like this.
After successfully blending in, Lawrence returned to his quarters, donned the full set of equipment that had been replaced, and, after stealing a large amount of money, crushed a teleportation scroll.
The scenery around him began to change, the azure teleportation array enveloping Lawrence and bursting with dazzling light.
When he came to, Lawrence found himself outside Adela Village.
Since his resurrection, a new main quest had appeared in his task bar: head to [Deep Forest].
However, starting from Calia wasn't a wise choice. If he encountered John and the others on the way, he might end up dead again.
So, Lawrence decided to set off from Adela Village. Though it would be a bit of a detour, it was safer.
Moreover, there was one more thing Lawrence needed to take care of before leaving.
Finding a safe spot outside the village, Lawrence logged out voluntarily, returning to the real world.
After a moment of disorientation, Lawrence exhaled deeply, sat up from his bed, and looked out at the pitch-black window.
"Helena, when you wake up and find my body gone, what expression will you have?"
With this thought, Lawrence curled his lips into a sinister smile.
If he could, Lawrence would rush into Helena's room right now and vent his desires.
Unfortunately, [Apocalypse] seemed to have anticipated this. If the body was attacked or even touched in the outside world, the system would forcefully log them out to handle real-world dangers.
Rather than exposing that he was still alive, it was better to use this to hide his identity and bide his time.
As for this shelter, Lawrence clearly couldn't stay here any longer. After packing his belongings, he took nearly all the food from the shelter, leaving Helena alone in the abandoned bunker.
Lawrence needed a new place to stay, and the food he had would last him ten days. If he didn't find a new shelter or more food within ten days, he would die just the same.
…
Not long after Lawrence left, Helena woke up as well.
Despite their years as childhood friends, Helena couldn't bring herself to let Lawrence's body rot, even if it was for the sake of their deceased parents—she had to bury him.
But…
After a moment of waking up, Helena sat up and instinctively reached for something beside her, only to grab at empty air.
"Strange, I clearly remember putting a bottle of water by the bed… Did I misremember?"
Helena furrowed her brows, thinking it was her own oversight.
But when she went to the next room, Lawrence's body, along with all the food in the shelter, was gone.
Helena searched the entire bunker, finding only a final can of beans and half a bottle of water.
It was clear that an intruder had stolen the food and Lawrence's body.
Now, Helena might still hold out for a while, but without the food, the bunker was no longer safe. These issues weighed heavily on Helena's mind, making her expression increasingly grim.
"Should I leave the bunker and find a new, safe shelter with enough food?"
Helena's unintended thought aligned with Lawrence's, but unlike him, an image of John inexplicably floated into her mind.
After hesitating for a moment, Helena decided to discuss the matter with John. She hid the last can of beans and logged back into the game.
After explaining her current situation to John, Helena asked, "John, you said we would meet soon. Do you have a way?"
"The Targeted Teleportation Scroll. It's a teleportation scroll that works in the real world. As long as the destination coordinates are set to my location, you can teleport here without incantations, ignoring the distance.
However… the Targeted Teleportation Scroll is extremely rare. It only has a small chance of dropping from BOSS-level dungeons, about one in a thousand."
Hearing this, Helena's newly kindled hope was extinguished once again, but she remained undeterred. "One in a thousand… If I clear a thousand dungeons, I'll get it eventually, right?"
"Why go through all that trouble? I only said it's rare, but since I have to take responsibility for you, I've already prepared one."
John smiled and handed a parchment scroll to Helena.
"Are you ready to meet me?"