My basement connects to another world.

Chapter 8 Hilu

It was a small face, no bigger than the palm of your hand, with a pointed chin, fair skin, long eyelashes, and short, pearly white hair hanging down to her shoulders.

What stunned Jiang Yuan was not the girl's exquisite beauty, but the pair of upright, fluffy, white cat ears in her pearly white hair!

The inner part of the earlobe was faintly pink.

"Cat-eared girl?!" Jiang Yuan was shocked, but he did not lower his guard because of the pitiful-looking girl from another world.

He raised his crossbow and demanded in a deep voice, "Who are you?!"

The sound echoed throughout the stone chamber.

The sound seemed to have startled the girl awake.

Her pale cat ears twitched, her eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes slowly opened, her sky-blue pupils focusing on Jiang Yuan:

"Human?!" A string of unfamiliar syllables escaped from the little mouth, the little face weak and confused.

"We can communicate!" Jiang was overjoyed, but then he was stunned.

Can I understand otherworldly language?

The syllables uttered by the cat-eared girl were not in any language he knew.

Yet it so naturally knew what the other person was saying, as if it had a simultaneous interpretation machine installed in its brain.

Is it the power of that finger bone? Jiang Yuan didn't delve into the details, and asked while holding the crossbow:

"Who are you? Where is this place? Do you know how to get out of here?"

The girl struggled to sit up, a hint of confusion appearing in her sky-blue eyes:

"Human, what are you talking about?"

Uh… Jiang Yuan suddenly realized that although he could understand the language of this other world.

But he won't say it!

He opened his mouth to verify and asked two more questions.

The girl's expression grew increasingly confused; her cat ears tucked back, and her frail little face was filled with bewilderment.

Unable to communicate... Jiang Yuan sighed, lowered the crossbow muzzle slightly, and used his left hand to gesture.

He pointed to himself, then to the cave behind him, and then to the top, making a walking motion.

Hilu's mind was still a complete mess.

She was not only very hungry, but also very weak, especially after she tasted a bite of that big guy's flesh.

Although upon seeing the corrosive green blood of the giant creature, the quick-witted Hilu guessed that this one-eyed behemoth, like the other creatures in the cave, was likely unsuitable as food.

But she was so hungry that after tasting a small bite of the poisoned meat, she did not regain her strength and instead fell into a deep sleep.

At this point, she was extremely weak.

Is this the same...human from before? Hil blinked, sensing a threat.

It has no ears or tail, and holds a human that can fire a weapon called "Linlinlin".

Father was right. Humans look strange, but they're not ugly.

She remembered her father saying that humans are cunning. Be careful.

Then she saw the human start gesturing wildly at her.

Hilu stared at it for a while, then weakly spoke, "Human, you can't speak, you're mute..."

...This cat-eared girl doesn't seem very bright! Jiang Yuan froze.

Hilu was even more certain.

This human really can't talk... She sniffed and suddenly smelled a scent.

Those sky-blue eyes widened suddenly, and the person snapped to attention, their gaze falling on the human in front of them.

"I'm so hungry..." she said cautiously. "Do you have anything to eat?"

Jiang Yuan understood what the cat-eared girl was saying.

He hesitated for a moment.

The girl looked so weak she could barely stand... Was she injured in the battle with that gray-scaled lizard?

At this moment, the way the girl stared at him so expectantly was no different from a kitten huddled in a corner of an alley.

Beautiful things always make people lower their guard more quickly; it's an instinct ingrained in human nature.

Jiangyuan is no exception.

—But he remained wary.

Did this cat-eared girl kill the powerful monster with a dagger, or perhaps deliver the final blow?

A person who can plunge a dagger into the head of this enormous monster, no matter how soft and weak they may seem now, is no harmless little animal.

But he also needs information. More information about the other world.

Currently, the area he was teleported to is different from all other game players; no one has ever explored it before.

At least he didn't see any information about this on the forum.

Without more information and guidance, who knows what he might encounter next or some inexplicable danger?

Since this girl appeared here and killed this monster, she must know something.

Both sides are risky... Jiang Yuan quickly weighed the options in his mind.

Finally, he made a decision, took a compressed biscuit out of his bag, and tore open the wrapper.

The biscuits are light yellow, tightly pressed, and have a faint grain aroma.

He threw it at the girl.

Hilu took the cookie, her fluffy, white tail twitching nervously.

The unfamiliar food, which she had never seen before, made her wary.

Could human-made products be toxic?

My father said that humans use all sorts of strange tools to make all sorts of strange things, and some of these things, when eaten, can make people become very strange.

But hunger soon followed, quickly overwhelming the girl who had not yet experienced hardship.

She stuffed it into her mouth, her cheeks puffed out, and chewed a few times.

Delicious! The white cat ears suddenly stood up, and the sky-blue eyes widened.

It tastes even better than wild fruits and dried meat! It's neither fishy nor astringent.

Hilu couldn't quite describe the smell, but it was very fragrant.

She swallowed the first piece in no time, then looked longingly at Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan took out another piece, then a third, and a fourth.

Half of the compressed biscuits she brought were instantly eaten by her.

Hilu licked her lips and then reached out her hand.

Jiang Yuan quickly waved his hand, "These are compressed biscuits. You've had enough. Eating more will cause problems."

He gestured to his stomach, made a bloating motion, and then shook his head seriously.

Hilu tilted her head. She understood roughly—this human was reluctant to give it up.

She withdrew her hand, her cat ears drooping, but she didn't persist any longer.

This smells so good, it must be very precious, so it's normal that they won't give it to me.

As her strength gradually returned, she used the stone wall to support herself and stood up.

She only reached Jiang Yuan's chin. She raised her head, her sky-blue eyes continuing to scrutinize the human in front of her.

It's very beautiful, but unfortunately it doesn't have a tail.

Having recovered somewhat, Hilu suddenly realized something, blinked, and said, "You're not mute, you just can't speak our language."

"He actually realized it..." Jiang Yuan thought to himself.

Seeing that he didn't reply, Hilu didn't press the matter further.

She tilted her head and suddenly pulled a small object out from her waist.

A bead the size of a fingernail, with a translucent amber surface, containing a small clump of luminous filaments.

She placed the bead in her palm, facing the direction of Jiang Yuan.

Suddenly, the light threads inside the bead lit up, and a soft amber light spread out, enveloping Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan was startled and quickly raised his crossbow. "What are you doing—"

Then he stopped.

He heard the syllables coming from his own mouth.

The tone was short and unfamiliar, with a slightly soft and sweet ending, exactly like what the cat-eared girl had just said.

Hilu looked at him with delight, "You did it!"

She put the beads away, her cat tail swaying behind her, a hint of smugness in her voice:

"This is the Communion Bead that the priest gave to Hilu. If you give it to an intelligent magical beast, it will learn our language."

...Warcraft? Jiang Yuan's lips twitched, followed by excitement.

Another world is truly amazing... It would be so much easier if we could communicate!

He asked, "What's your name? Where are you from? What are you doing here?"

"My name is Shilu!" The girl puffed out her small chest, her tail wagging proudly, and said without any guard up:

"From the Frostclaw tribe! I was chasing a 'Horned Sheep' when it stumbled into the Ancestral Forbidden Grounds. Hilu didn't notice and followed it in, and that's how we ended up here..."

Forbidden Land? Frostclaw Tribe? Why not Frosttail... Jiang Yuan glanced at her large, white tail.

At this moment, Hilu couldn't wait to say:

"Human, what are you doing here? Hil has never seen a human before! Do you know how to get out?"

I'm still waiting for you to take me out... Jiang Yuan's heart sank when he heard her words, and he said:

"I also suddenly appeared here. You don't know the way out?"

Hilu's excited expression faded. "Hilu doesn't know. This place is huge. I wandered around for ages and couldn't find my way back..."

As she said this, her cat ears drooped, and her voice lowered:

"Hiru has been here for four days. She can't eat the blue grass on the stone wall, and she can't eat the little spiders either... The one-eyed monster is poisonous, so she can't eat it either..."

She felt somewhat wronged.

"If I hadn't come, wouldn't you have starved to death...?" Jiang Yuan pressed.

"You mean you accidentally wandered into your tribe's forbidden area and then suddenly appeared here? Where did you appear, and why didn't you go back the way you came?"

Hilu shook her little head and said, "We can't go out from there."

Jiang Yuan was taken aback. "What do you mean?"